[1][2] Nahum Barnet began practicing as an architect in 1879, and was an early advocate of red brick and terracotta, then gaining popularity in England, rather than the ubiquitous stucco or stone.
[3] By the late 1880s he had produced some major works, including Rosaville, an unusual and highly elaborate two storey terrace in Carlton, the Renaissance Revival style Her Majesty's Theatre (1886), as well as the Moss White & Co Tobacco Warehouse (1888) and the Austral Building (1891) in Collins Street, amongst the first to introduce the red brick Queen Anne style to the city's streetscapes.
Barnet embellished some of his essays in this style with Art Nouveau details, relatively rare in Melbourne, including Alston's Corner, the Paton Building, though most decorative elements were flowing floral designs.
The striking Young Women's Christian Association clubrooms in Russell Street (demolished) was more eclectic, combining red brick, projecting squat turrets and a high stylised parapet.
[6] In 1885 Barnet married Ada Rose Marks in the Great Synagogue, Sydney; they had four daughters and from the mid-1890s lived next door to his parents in Alma Road St Kilda.