Please vote for the City Daily Photo Blog May Theme Day. It is currently nip-and-tuck between Statues, Funny Signs and Construction.
The first incarnation of the Sydney Arcade (1881) was a set-square from King Street to George Street, in behind the Darrel-Lea corner. Thomas Rowe designed three arcades during the boom period of the late 19th century, the sydney Arcade in 1881, the Royal Arcade in 1882, and the Imperial Arcade in 1891. Effectively, they are all gone, with the internals of this arcade being replaced with 29 floors of office space. Telstra occupies Levels 2 to 15. The facade on the King Street frontage was retained and is the closing shot of this post.
The new Sydney Arcade arcs from King Street through to the Pitt Street Mall, on the site where I can remember going up to the Coles cafeteria on the first floor for a cheap meal when I was at Teachers' College in the late '60s. It is a pleasure to walk through, but, oh why, did we have to lose the elegance of the original?
A member of the Sunday in my City community.
