[2] The building, located in the southern suburb of Hove, was commissioned by Townsend and designed in Gothic style by noted architect (also a mayor of Adelaide and parliamentarian) Thomas English.
It was built in 1878 as the South Australian Institution for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, Brighton, later renamed Townsend House.
The home was run by a private committee, and provided residential care for vision and hearing impaired children until 1999, when it closed..[5] In 2019, the Cora Barclay Centre merged with Can:Do 4Kids, Townsend House, continuing their services as a specialist program.
[6] CanDo4Kids offers services to children and young adults including: speech pathology, early intervention, occupational therapy, family support, assistive technology, youth work, recreation auditory processing disorder intervention, auditory verbal therapy, mentor programs and counselling.
All services are provided free of charge to children and young adults who are deaf, blind or who have a sensory impairment.