Best in Show: A heritage offering with lots of soul at Leichhardt's ex-Salvation Army hall

The phrase “charity begins at home” took on a whole new meaning for the owners of this converted Salvation Army hall.

“When they first moved in, people would slide money under the door or leave donations out,” says Ben Southwell of Cobden & Hayson Annandale. “When people realised it was being used as a residence, the donations stopped pretty quickly.”

Though short-lived, the offerings were a sign of goodwill the Leichhardt community felt for this circa-1916 building, which still bears a facade sign beneath the gabled roof and plaque commemorating its opening. 

Over the years, it has been used as everything from a respite community to a dance hall. The owners, who bought it from the Salvos for $200,000 in 2000, were determined to preserve the landmark for generations to come.

“When the owners bought it, it wasn’t with a vision of moving in,” Southwell says. “They started leasing it out to an antiques dealer. It also had a house attached to the back, which was subdivided and sold off.”

The antiques dealer moved out at a time when the owners were entangled in a complex development application for a new house in the eastern suburbs. Approval was eventually granted but the process sapped their enthusiasm for going ahead with the build. 

Instead, they renovated the old hall into a dream home brimming with heritage charm.

Inside and out, this four-bedroom, two-bathroom property on 378 square metres has been a labour of love. An ornate cathedral ceiling makes the vast living spaces feel even more voluminous. The kitchen, including stone benchtops and a commercial gas cooker, occupies an elevated position on the original pulpit.

Recycled lights and doors create a delightfully eclectic look. One set of rustic timber doors has even been hung as a room divider in the open-plan living space.

“He didn’t want to damage the floors, so he suspended it from the ceiling.”

French doors open to a garden courtyard with koi pond, built-in barbecue and romantic wisteria vines.

SOLD - $4,250,000

54-56 Carlisle Street, Leichhardt NSW 2040

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The property is offered for sale with a $4.2 million price tag. The owners are willing to negotiate including furniture, too. 

“Every single piece in there has a story to it,” Southwell says.

It’s hard to put a price on the appeal of homes with intriguing past lives. At nearby Jane Street in East Balmain, a four-story Gothic mansion originally built as a Catholic convent hit the market recently through Bresic Whitney’s Adrian Oddi with an asking price of $12 million.

Last year, a converted Masonic hall at Station Street in Newtown traded for $5.05 million. And in Stanmore Road in Petersham, a red-hot six-bedroom house that started life as a fire station was snapped up for more than $7 million.