El Nido is a heritage-listed detached house at 194 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

[1] Possibly originally known as Cassa Anna, this early Brisbane Spanish Mission style house was constructed c. 1928 for Mr and Mrs E. F. Powers.

In the 1860s Weekes sold much of this land to Brisbane auctioneer and politician James Dickson, who erected Toorak House at the top of Hamilton Hill.

Braeside House, a substantial two-storeyed residence, appears to have been erected c. 1880 on subdivisions 4 and 5, and was occupied by solicitor John Robb Baxter Bruce by 1883.

This second carriage drive led to two structures in the southwest corner of the estate (on subdivision 1), close to Hamilton Road, which may have been stables or garages.

[1] In mid-1927 Powers commissioned architect EP Trewern to design a substantial Spanish Mission styled residence for this site, to take advantage of the views.

Mr EP Trewern, architect, has received from a local medico a commission to erect a residence for him of this type, and, as the location is on the Hamilton Heights, it will be seen to advantage."

A similar claim that Spanish Mission design was being introduced to Brisbane was repeated in the Daily Mail newspaper of 28 October 1927:20, which published a sketch of the principal elevations.

The 20th century construction of domestic dwellings in brick or concrete was still in its infancy in Brisbane, and El Nido was at the cutting edge of this movement.

Gow also appears to have leased the house to other occupants for some years, possibly even to the former owner, Dr Brown, who remains listed in the Post Office Directories as resident here until at least 1940.

It was occupied at the time by JP Ragland, consul for the United States of America, and was a focus for "society" functions in Brisbane.

The elaborate decoration would have been seen from the river and from the Brisbane Airport approach to the city, along Hamilton Road (Kingsford Smith Drive).

Elements of the Spanish Mission style include: a complex main hipped roof and small ancillary skillion roofs at various heights, all clad in Cordova style terracotta tiles; the use of colonnaded verandahs with semi-circular arches, barley twist columns and wrought iron balustrades; and the white roughcast exterior.

[1] Internally, the house remains substantially intact, with original timber wall panelling in the public rooms, and decorative leadlight windows throughout.

This building is similarly designed with a Spanish Mission feel, with its roughcast rendered exterior walls and Cordova tiled roof.

[1] The concrete stairs at 25 Hillside Crescent which lead to Kingsford Smith Drive are included in the heritage register boundary, having been used as an alternative means of access to El Nido for over 70 years.

The top of these stairs has been extended onto the El Nido property to facilitate this use, and there are two landings further down the slope which permit access from 19 Hillside Crescent.

Included in the heritage register boundary is an early set of steps located on the adjacent block to the eastern of El Nido.

These steps, which lead to Kingsford Smith Drive, were associated with the c. 1880 suburban villa known as Braeside, and have been shared by the residents of 19 and 25 Hillside Crescent since the late 1920s.