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Seaforth is a suburb on the route to Sydney's northern beaches. Inter-war houses are a feature of the area around Ponsonby Parade and Seaforth Crescent.

Killara has grand houses and plenty of greenery.

Manly has architectural gems from virtually every decade of the twentieth century. There are many fascinating houses and apartment blocks in the streets around Manly Wharf. Don't miss the 1960's Ting Hao building on Darley Rd, which rises like a modernist pagoda on the hill behind East Esplanade. (Apparently, Ting Hao means Mountain Sea in Cantonese.)

The streets around East Esplanade are rich with treasures. Then, on the other side of Manly Wharf, is West Esplanade featuring remarkable 1930s Brighton Hall on Fairlight Street, and other gems. There are also many interesting things to be seen in streets along Manly oceanfront. The northern oceanfront is also well worth exploring. Occasional gems can be found in Curl Curl.

Ting Hao, Manly

Brighton Hall, Manly

Fairlight, up Sydney Rd west of Manly, has many flats, houses and shops from the 20s and 30s through to the 50s and 60s. There are also a few tucked away in nearby Brookvale and further north, Narrabeen.

Castlecrag is closely associated with Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin, but there's also much to be seen that's the work of other architects and builders.

Houses in a number of inter-war styles are a feature of many Sydney suburbs, but they often get demolished, cement rendered, or modified beyond recognition.

Neville Gruzman was well-known as one of Sydney's more colourful characters. He was also an architect who designed some very fine houses.

Wahroonga is where you'll find one of the most influential 20th century houses in Australia. Rose Seidler House was designed by Harry Seidler in the late 1940s. It features authentic period furnishings and is open to the public. Every year there is a Fifties Fair at the house, which is extremely popular. The house is a must-see for any Sydney visitor, and is open to the public via the Historic Houses Trust.

Not far away in Killara (although not open to the public) is the less well known, but equally outstanding Harry & Penelope Seidler House.

Seidler is sometimes called 'the father of modernism in Australia', and also designed the uncompromising – and to this day controversial – Blues Point Tower.

Main picture: Blues Point Tower.

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