Dental Hospital

The Dental hospital at 5.31 pm as I headed home from work. The setting sun reflected on the west facing facade caught my eye. (PS The trees are just starting to shimmer the merest hint of spring leaf growth...you can't see it here, and is barely discernible to the eye, but I'll try for a photo as soon as I can)

Victoria Barracks, Paddington

An Australian Army barracks, one of the best-known examples of colonial military architecture in Australia. The majority of the barracks was constructed by convicts, using locally quarried sandstone, between February 1841 and April 1848. The barracks were occupied by British troops up until 1870 and then taken over by the New South Wales colonial forces. Currently home to both Headquarters Land Command and Headquarters Training Command.

There are guided tours at 10am on Thursdays. I took these on a Saturday, and couldn't get in - took these photos through the fence.

Railway Square

The lovely old building is a former post office, now an apartment hotel. Taken through the glass canopy in Railway Square, a major bus stop on the southern edge of the central business district (CBD).

Also, I'd like to apologise for not getting round to visit as many Theme Day photos as I would have liked. Things have been absolutely mad at work - long days (and into nights). I hope to catch up in the next little while.

Peeling paint

Yurong Lane, Darlinghurst

Something old, something new

Above, the new Arncliffe Fire Station, opened in 1996, and below, the old Arncliffe Fire Station, opened in 1909, now converted to use as a pre-school. The new one incorporates many sound environmental features, such as solar energy use. I really like it - very innovative. It is located on an extremely busy t- intersection very near Sydney Airport, and always entrances me as I turn past, which is most weekday mornings at about 5:45 am, on my way to the gym for a swim. The old station is Feederation style, based on English Arts and Crafts architecture. There is open space for the children out of shot.

Kiss's Buildings

George St, City

"Illegal" photo

Oh, how we suffer for our art! These chairs caused me to be tapped on the shoulder by security and told to put my camera away.

They are a very ordinary setting in the lobby of an office building in the city (The Gateway at Circular Quay). I thought they looked pretty snazzy and lined up a shot. Just as I was about to press the button some beefy bloke in a security uniform informed me that is is "forbidden" to take photos in the foyer of a building thousands of people pass through every day. "Why?". Silence. I don't think they were protecting the design from copyright, just more mad overkill in "these security conscious times".

I heard a bloke on radio yesterday sayign some goon had stopped him taking photos from the walkway of the Harbour Bridge - a perfectly legal activity, undertaken by thousands of tourists every day!

I pressed the button, said "See the bomb didn't go off" and went on my way.

Bad feng shui, Chinatown

This wall upsets my sensibilities. Although there is symmetry, the proportions seem so disharmonious. I don't get a sense of good feng shui from it at all. '

Paramount Pictures

Now an upmarket restaurant, this art deco building from 1940 was the Sydney offices of Paramount. It wasn't a studio, but did have a screening room, and apparently luminaries like Bob Hope and Charlton Heston attended functions. I've been to the restaurant, Lo Studio (The Studio), and it's very good. Inside there's lovely woodwork and other deco features.

Rex Simpson Fine Clothes For Men

A surviving mural from another age. Pitt St, Sydney.

Tiles and piano .... the Muse

The Muse building, Sydney Institute of TAFE (Technical and Further Education) , Ultimo

Jacarandas, Sydney Town Hall

In November I showed a row of jacarandas in full bloom. Keen-eyed observers of yesterday's photo of the Town Hall may have noticed that the trees out the front are jacarandas in full leaf. Here's a close-up of part of the building with one of the trees.

Sydney Town Hall is very "hotel de ville" French, and it does indeed have Italianate, and Second Empire French beaux arts influences. There's some history of it to be read here.

Sydney Town Hall from Kinokuniya Bookshop

Sydney Town Hall and St Andrews anglican cathedral, taken from the large windows of Kinokuniya Bookshop, overlooking the intersection of George and Druitt Streets. To take this photo, I just swivelled my body from where I took yesterday's.

Here's a close-up of the clock tower and cupola, which I showed on a previous blog.

Happy Birthday! St Matthew's Anglican Church, Windsor

St Matthew's Church at Windsor is the oldest Anglican Church in Australia and the second oldest of any denomination. It is widely acknowledged as one of the best works of the great convict architect, Francis Greenway. Built by convicts between 1817-1820, the site was chosen by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Macquarie laid the foundation stone 11 October, 1817 - 190 years ago today.


An interesting feature of the interior is a Crying Room. Mum tells me many theatres and cinemas used to have them - a place parents could retreat to if their babies started crying and still watch the movie. I've never seen one in a church. This one was built in 1957. See here for more about St Matthew's.

Ben Chifley

A steel sculptural image of former Labor party Prime Minister (1945-49) Ben Chifley stands in Chifley Square. On the grid of cabbage palms, this replaces one of the trees. The image is cut from two flat sheets of stainless steel, narrowly separated by a truss. It is like a 2-D pop art image.

St Peters Anglican Church, Campbelltown

A closer view of the church in the background of yesterday's photo.

St Peter’s Church is the oldest building in Campbelltown and the third oldest Anglican Church in Australia. It opened for worship on 29th June, 1823.

It was designed and supervised by Frank Lawless, a foreman bricklayer. He seems to have copied the style of the great convict architect Francis Greenway. The style is Georgian (1702-1830)

The pendulum clock was made by Johnsons in London in 1838 (and certainly wasn't shoing the correct time! I was there about 2.30pm)

Through the columns, State Library

Today was a bit of a dull, grey old day - perect for peeking at the world from porticos and verandahs.

View from the 45th floor, 11:50am today

A visit today to the Italian Consulate in downtown Sydney. This is the view from the waiting room (and after receiving our number, we had an hour to contemplate the view...)

The round building is Australia Square Tower, which I've shown before from ground level (click here). The "Eiffel Tower" in the middle distance has also been featured before (click here). Beyond that is the main, sandstone building of Sydney University (click here).