Queen Victoria Building

Yesterday's stained glass windows from the outside

To this building I owe a debt of gratitude. Imagine my delight in the late 60s discovering the oeuvre of Charmaine Clift, brown-stained and dog-eared, only knowing her 'til then from reading provocative columns in the Sydney Morning Herald. Squatting on the cold linoleum floor, my brain pulsed with every image of bohemian life on sparkling Greek islands, so far from the white-picket-fence of a life laid out for me.

Left: Prior to the 1890s, the site was occupied by the Old Police Courts according to this image from the State Archives Right: A framed photograph presented to McCrae in July 1898

George McCrae was the City architect who designed the Corn Exchange in Sussex Street erected in 1887 and then this Queen Victoria Building erected in 1898. After many derelict years - to the brink of demolition - the QVB was restored in 1987 and refurbished in 2009. Starting as the Sydney Central Markets (SCM), it was used as offices for the city council and the main branch of the City of Sydney Library, until post restoration it became an upmarket arcade containing over 200 "brand names".


The George Street (nominally Sydney's main street) frontage showing the entrance into the area under the main dome. This photograph was taken from outside the Hilton Hotel where the CHOGM bomb exploded in February 1978, killing three people.

Left: Queen Victoria Markets in 1920 showing the intersection of George, Park & Druitt Streets. Right: The QVB in 1970 from the Electricity Commission building on the corner of George & Bathurst Streets.

Top: The "front" of the QVB facing Sydney Town Hall showing the brooding statue of Queen Victoria.
Bottom: The QVB city block along George Street showing the central dome the entry to which is down at the street lights in the distance.

Historic images are the property of the City of Sydney and the State Archives of NSW

Victoria - The Widow of Windsor

Two statues of Queen Victoria in our CBD. Two that I know of, anyways. The first and third photo show the same statue: located in the forecourt of the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), on the intersection of George Street, with both Park Street, and Druitt Streets. I stepped this way and that to alter the background, the golden sandstone of the QVB or the modern stripes of the Hilton. The middle shot is of the statue located at the top of Macquarie Street near its intersection with Prince Albert Road. I did not remove the background. What you see is the sky on an overcast day. Contrary to rumour, we do sometimes get those here in Sydney town.

Queen Victoria ascended the British Throne in June 1837 and died in January 1901 - 63 years and 7 months.. This was in the growth years of Sydney as a city. The ties to "motherland" were strong and genuine. Sadly, they still are. Sometime in September this year, the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, will exceed that of her great-grand-mother.

Sydney from on high (3)

Looking down upon the 1898 Queen Victoria Building (QVB), which many would assert is the centre of this city. It is bounded by George Street (where the big, red bus is), York Street (on the other side), and has Market Street running east-west along the RHS. Market St is eponymous with the QVB which is the site of the original municipoal markets, the site having been reserved for such a purpose in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.

Sydney Open - QVB Dome

This is 'Sydney Open' weekend conducted by the Historic Houses Trust. I have three Focus Tours: the dome of the Queen Victoria Building; the disused tunnels of Central Station; and, the Tank Stream. In between, I have a City Pass to make the most of that I can.

This is my third 'Sydney Open' so I have seen some of the buildings that are open today. It is the perennial 'travelling salesman' connundrum: the best route between desired locations. Here is my 'solution':

Judge's House
King Street Courts
Royal Automobile Club
Police & Justice Museum
History House, and
BMA House.

Yesterday, between heavy rain, I climbed the numerous steps and ladders to walk around the main dome of the QVB. What a way to see a city! However, no photographs. We were told no cameras were allowed the route being too steep and precipitate. However, we had no sooner started than out came all the pocket cameras and mobile phones. I did not realise that I was such a law-abiding citizen. However, one kind gentleman took my email addy and, with any luck, something will arrive during the week. In the meantime, these shots from the interior of this building showing that it is, once again, that time of year.

Sydney Open - the dome of the QVB

With much appreciation to Greg Lake for the use of his photographs.


Every two years, the Historic Houses Trust runs a Sydney Open, where upwards of 60 architectural icons are opened to the public. There is a 'general' section where you work out how many locations you can fit into your day, and knock them off one by one. Then, there are the 'Focus Tours' where you pay $30 per person, per tour. These sell out very quickly and places are limited. Getting in early, I secured tickets for the dome of the Queen Victoria Building, the tunnels beneath Central Station, and the Tank Stream beneath Australia Square.


The previous time the QVB dome was opened was in 2006, and one can appreciate why. There was a lot of steep climbing of rickety steps involved, and much dust and pigeon poop. However, the view from the top was exhilarating. This used to be the highest vantage point in the city. If there was a fire on the horizon, this is where it would be seen from first. Nowadays, we were engulfed by glass.


I am indebted to Greg Lake for the majority of photographs in this post, excepting the two immediately above this note of appreciation. Greg and his wife were on the Focus Tour with me, and graciously agreed to email me photographs. Silly me, had taken the organisers at their word when the blurb said 'No photography allowed'. The tour guides gave no such admonition, and camera phones popped up from everywhere. Silly me, left mine at home. Thank you, Greg. I appreciate being in touch with you.

Decking QVB

The Swarovski Diamond tree is, once again, beneath the main dome of the Queen Victoria Building. Winding up three floors, the full majesty of the tree becomes apparent. Well ... it used to. This year the powers that be have erected a garish Santa 'thing' right next to the top of the tree. Appalling ... just appalling. But you, dear readers, have been spared this lapse in good taste and judgement.

The masons are in town

There has been a lot of sandstone sprucing-up going on in our fair city over the last 18 months: State Library, Central Station clock tower, QVB, and now the Town Hall. The work is being done by the Traditional Sandstone Company, even though there does not appear to be much tradition in that dentist's drill he is using.

See up high on the clock tower, those little plywood inserts? Ten of the capitals are being recarved - not just being cleaned up, but reproduced. Each capital will take two weeks to carve, even with the power tools. The complete restoration project will take four years and cost $33 million, but all should be spic'n'span in time for the 150th celebrations in 2018.

Do you always look through windows like this to watch experts at work?

Now go off and read The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner. Read them in order: The Stone Book; Granny Reardun; The Aimer Gate; and, Tom Fobble's Day. I have them in mind for my grand-daughter when she is seven or eight.

A dwarfed Sydney Town Hall

I was standing at the intersection of York and Market Streets. My faher worked In D & W Murray (Wholesale Haberdasher) on this corner from 1935 (aged 14) until he joined the army in September 1942. (aged 21). I like York Street, as it has retained many of its early buildings. On the left is the massive Queen Victoria Building (QVB) which was built between 1893 and 1898, and has had numerous face-lifts since then. I remember borrowing books from the City Library which used to be housed therein. That was where I was first introduced to Charmaine Clift. Who? I hear you ask. Nevermind.

An obese slinky

A sculpture down the stairwell of the George Street entrance to the Hilton Hotel.

And here are two more shots that I include because I listen to my readers. Yes, Joan, I liked the 'hanging gardens', too. And they made a great combination with the glass restaurant. The dome of the QVB which I showed yesterday. looms behind, and above, this restaurant.

Weekend Reflections - Jostling for supremacy

On George Street, a block down from the town hall, the old and the new jostle for supremacy. The new is represented by the concrete, glass and aluminium of the Hilton Hotel (c. 1970). The old is represented by the sandstone, glass and copper of the Queen Victoria Building (c. 1898).

You realise, of course, that those dates are meaningless as both buildings have had extensive make-overs through the years, both inside and out. The QVB maintains its original appearance more so than does the Hilton. However, inside the Hilton is the 1893 Marble Bar, which, although maintaining its 'scaffolding' has also had a nip here, and a tuck there.

That is what cities do: they metamorphose to meet the needs of commerce.


This is a Weekend Reflections contributiom.

Bird's eye view

Market Street is one-way crossing the CBD from East to West. It runs from Hyde Park North to Darling Harbour. Half-way along Market street in the block between George & York Streets stands the QVB which was built in 1888. Prior to this, there was a market on the site. Hence, the name.


Across Market Street in the photograph above, can you discern the glassed pedestrain walkway at the 1st floor level? I stood in this glassed enclosure to take a series of images up and down Market Street early on a Sunday morning.

In the photo on the LHS, I am facing west, toward Darling Harbour which is over the rise. See that bloke in the centre of the road? Where he is standing used to be the swamp wherefrom the Tank Stream sprang. The TS is the reason the early settlers established Sydney where it is. But within 80 years we had polluted the stream and now it is totally underground. In the photo on the RHS, I am facing east, toward Hyde Park. The neon light is an advertisement in the St James subway station which was dug into the park in 1926. All images should enlarge.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah stayin' alive!

In Sydney on Thursday, the CEO of our snootiest department store went public looking for a scapegoat for a profit downgrade he was about to announce. Everyone copped a spray, except himself and his board.

This brings me to my photograph today, which shows one of the walkways through the TGV building which stands diagonally opposite the Sydney Town Hall. TGV stands for The Galeries Victoria. No idea why it is called that.[Light-bulb Moment: it is opposite the QVB with its statue of Queen Victoris. Duh!!] However, the site has a fascinating recent history. Recent meaning in my life-time. Watch it!

This is the site of the old Waltons department store which put out its shingle in 1951. The Australian retail scene was changing and old allegiances were being strained - as they are now. Waltons took over Marcus Clark and then swallowed Anthony Hordern's Palace Emporium. Quickly followed McDowell's in 1971. By the following year Waltons had expanded to 96 department stores. The Waltons retail empire was sold to Alan Bond in 1981. The Waltons name disappeared when Bond sold the company in 1987. For many years it was a hole in the ground. Now it is TGV which, although you might think it to be a fast train in France, is actually a couple of malls with small boutiques and coffee shops.

And this stained glass hanging at the Pitt Street entrance.

Texture - Sydney sandstone

The QVB (Queen Victoria Building) was built during the 1880s. It has endured a number of incarnations over the following 120 years (vegetable market, government offices, upmarket retail) and quite a few make-overs, bordering on face-lifts. It is currently undergoing another scrubbing. It is all the rage apparently. The State Library has been cleaned. Central Station clock-tower is being cleaned. A sandstone-led recovery from recession, perhaps.

But, get a look at this workmanship! Run a virtual finger over those sandstone-swirls.

Unvaulted - a panoramic skyline

In 1873 an unnamed photographer made the perilous ascent to the top of the clock tower on Sydney Town Hall. The clock face was still to be put in place, and he and two others climbed up steps and a series of ladders until they were 190 feet above George Street. The objective was to take a photograph between each of the columns of the finial - ten in all.


In 2007, photographer Peter Murphy made the same climb, and duplicated the original ten images. In his studio, he digitally stitched together the original ten images to form a panorama. He did the same with his recent ten images. Then he lined them up to enable those interested to make a direction comparison of their city 134 years apart.


Each of these stitched images is on display in the renovated Lower Ground Floor of the Town Hall until next Monday.

Murphy has also animated the original set of images and they are displayed on the wall in an never-ending loop, as well as on a computer where the viewer can forward and backward 'til their heart's content.

I have seen the Panorama Mesdag in The Hague. Our panorama falls a bit short. Mesdag was set apart in its own room and was 360 degrees with sound effects. However, I still found this panorama engrossing as it is of a city that I know intimately.

I could only find nine of the ten originals on the City of Sydney data-base.

Top Left - looking north down George St with the old markets in the foreground not the QVB Top Centre - looking across North Hyde Park to the spire of St James Top Right - looking east along Park Street through the centre of Hyde Park Middle Left - looking across South Hyde Park Middle Centre - looking south down George St with St Andrews in the fore-ground Middle Right - looking across St Andrews to Broadway and a very distant Sydney University Bottom Left - looking to the head of Darling Harbour Bottom Centre - looking across the centre of Darling Harbour with Pyrmont Bridge on the RHS Bottom Right - looking across the beginning of the Parramatta River with Millers Point on the RHS

The missing image is the tenth one which is looking north down York Street.