Aqua blue Brighton bathing box sells
A beach box in Brighton sold before its scheduled auction.
It was at an undisclosed figure believed to be around $200,000.
The strikingly colourful bathing box is known as 55 Beach Box near Dendy Street. Title Tattle understands the husband of the owner was a member of the Dendy Street Icebergers, so it served as defacto home to the Icebergers swimming club who are currently trying to get admitted to the Brighton life saving club further up the beach. They were once described as the crazy-brave swimmers who endure winter's seven-degree waters.
The bathing box was used as their change room, and also house the club trophies and was used for club functions over summer.
It was listed by RT Edgar agents Kellie Saddington and Greg Costello.
"It's one of the 82 tightly-held icons for which the beach is so renowned, located at the intersection of Dendy Street and the Esplanade which makes it easily accessible via a foot path.
"Decorated in purple and aqua-blue, the structure is fitted with split stable doors allowing the top half to remain open while the bottom half remains shut for protection during colder weather," the marketing said.
Beach bathing box 72 was Brighton beach's last offering when it failed to sell at its February auction.
The offer of $176,000 was short of its $190,000 reserve.
It remains for sale through Nick Johnstone agent David Urquhart.
Box 47 is also for sale, with an undisclosed asking price through Hodges.
The highest sale price was recorded in mid-2011 when the newest constructed Dendy Street bathing boxes sold for $221,000 and $260,000.
Set on one of the most photographed locales in Australia, they were newly built and sold by Bayside Council.
The dearer was 11 square metres, and the other nine square metres.
The 82 boxes area throwback to the 19th century, when the increasing popularity of sea bathing clashed with Victorian-era prudishness.
The first of the council's newly built weatherboard-clad structures with gabled roof offerings, reported to cost between $15,000 and $20,000 to build, fetched $215,000 at auction in December 2010.
