Page 124 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Australia

122  sy dney

Street-by-Street: Potts Point

The substantial Victorian houses filling the streets of this
old suburb are excellent examples of the 19th-century
concern with architectural harmony. new building projects ew building projects ew building pro
were designed to enhance rather than contradict the
surrounding buildings and general streetscape. Monumental
structures and fine details of moulded stuccoed parapets,
cornices and friezes, even the spandrels in herringbone
pattern, are all integral parts of a grand suburban plan.
(This plan included an 1831 order that all houses cost at The McElhone Stairs were
least £1,000.) Cool, dark verandas extend the street’s green preceded by a wooden ladder
that linked Woolloomooloo Hill,
canopy of shade, leaving an impression of cold drinks as Kings Cross was known,
enjoyed on summer days in fine Victorian style. to the estate far below.

Horderns Stairs
These villas, from
the Georgian and
Victorian eras, can
be broadly labelled V i c T o r i a S T r E E T
as Classical Revival
and are fronted by
leafy gardens.

S T r E E T

Kings Cross
2. Victoria Street Station
From 1972–4, residents of this T u S c u l u M M a N N i N G S T r E E T
historic street fought a sometimes
violent battle against developers
wanting to build high-rise towers, H u G H E S S T r E E T
motels and blocks of flats.
r

M a c l E a Y S T r E E T G r E E N K N

Werrington, a mostly
serious and streamlined
building, also has
flamboyant Art Deco E l i Z a B E T H
detailing which is now Tusculum Villa was just one of a
hidden under brown paint. number of 1830s houses sub
number of 1830s houses sub
number of 1830s houses subject ject
to “villa conditions”. All had to face
Government House, be of a high
monetary value and be built
within three years.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp482–3 and pp504–7