The Levido family built many art deco style houses in Chatswood and particularly the Upper North Shore between the 1920s and the 1960s.
The patriarch of the family was Edward Levino who was followed in his businesses by son Leonard and grandson John.
The houses they built were renowned a solid and well-built. They were mainly built for upwardly mobile people. Many of the houses built between 1938-39 had maid’s quarters.
Edward Levino started building in Chatswood in the 1920s. His brothers were Norman and Leonard It is reported that he was not a good builder. He lived in Boundary St, Chatswood (now Roseville on the eastern side as well). His house was an ordinary old workingman’s cottage.
Edward’s son Leonard married Lila Watson. The family moved around first to Fullers Rd and later to View St, Chatswood. Leonard formed the building company Levido & zS9on in the late 1920s. Their business office was located in Archer St, Chatswood (opposite the now Chatswood Chase). It appears that there was also a plumbing business. The business lasted until the late 1960s until the brother’s retired.
They then formed a hardware business in Anderson St, Chatswood and moved the building supply business to the now Lexus St at Roseville, on the Pacific Highway. Opposite Seymour’s Garage. The business employed a lot of builders and foreman were employed to manage the building of each house.. There were at least two teams of bricklayers, their own concretors and five or six carpenters. The houses they built around this time were primarily in Killara, Gordon, Roseville and Lindfield.
The bricks used for the houses were red bricks from the North Shore Bricks C0. (Lansleys .sic) in Artarmon. Mashman Pottery, Victoria Ave, Chatswood, provided all the drain pipes, bathroom fittings and toilet sets. The Levido Brothers also put in the gardens so everything was ready for the owners to move in.
Source: Kitson, J and Thomson, T, The Historian, KHS, Vol 46 No.1. December 2017 pp. 34 -39.
