Thursday 10 March 2011

Paddington Town Hall


Paddington no longer has a Lord Mayor (but is part of the municipality of Woollahra) and so the town hall which has a commanding position that overlooks both the harbour and the CBD, is now both a library and a series of cinemas known as The Chauvel. There is also an ornaate great hall that is available for hire.


The foundation stone for the Town Hall was laid in 1888 by Sir Henry Parkes, with the 32 metre high clock tower being added in 1905.

In comparison to Victoria Barracks (commenced in 1840), the town hall is but a whippersnapper. This imposing colonade of Vic Barracks is off the main parade ground where the young man was playing cricket yesterday.

9 comments:

Kay L. Davies said...

Beautiful photos, Julie.
What a wonderful old building. Just great that it is being put to good use. Wouldn't it be fun to rent the great hall for a gala event?
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Jim said...

These are magnificent abstracts of these marvellous buildings.

Jayne said...

Ahhhh, what bliss.

Anonymous said...

I've been past it many times but never noticed it. Best viewed from a bit of a distance I guess.

Mark said...

I have many good memories of going to the Town Hall for various bands and concerts in the 1980's thanks for the great photos.

Jack said...

The first two photographs, in particular, are special.

Kevin said...

I especially like the way you have featured the columns differently in the lower two photos.

Joan Elizabeth said...

There appears to be a treasure trove of old buildings that I know nothing about. I especially like the middle shot.

diane b said...

I have never seen this beautiful building. A great use of light in those shots. A well kept piece of history.