Page 86 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sydney
P. 86
84 SY DNEY AREA BY AREA
2 Queen Victoria Blarney Castle, Ire land, and a
Building sculpture of Islay, beloved dog
of Queen Victoria. In 1983, a
455 George St. Map 1 B5. Tel 9264 worldwide search began for a
9209. Town Hall. Open 9am–6pm statue of the queen herself. One
Mon–Sat (to 9pm Thu), 11am–5pm was finally found in the village
Sun. 7 8 See Shops and Markets: of Daingean, Republic of Ireland,
p198 and p200. ∑ qvb.com.au
where it had lain forgotten
French Designer Pierre Cardin since its removal from the front
called the Queen Victoria of the Irish Parliament in 1947.
Building “the most beautiful Fully restored, the Queen
shopping centre in the Victoria Statue stands near the
world”. Yet this spacious, ornate wishing well. Inside the QVB,
Romanesque building, better suspended from the ceiling,
Entrance to the Marble Bar, in the known as the QVB, began life is the Royal Clock. Weighing
basement level of the Hilton Sydney as the Sydney produce market. more than 1 tonne and over
The dust, flies, grime and 5 m (17 ft) tall, the clock was
1 Marble Bar shouts as horses struggled designed by Neil Glasser in
with heavy loads on the 1982. The upper structure
488 George St. Map 1 B5.
Tel 9266 2000. Town Hall. slippery ramps are now features part of Balmoral
Open 4pm to late Mon–Thu, difficult to imagine. Castle above a copy
5pm–2am Fri & Sat, 5–11pm Sun. Comp leted to of the four dials
Closed public hols. the design of City of Big Ben. At one
Architect George minute to every
The Marble Bar, originally part McRae in 1898, hour, a fanfare is
of George Adams’ Tattersalls the dominant Roof detail, Queen played and there
Hotel built in 1893, is an features are the Victoria Building follows a parade
inspired link with the Sydney central dome, depicting six scenes
of an earlier era. The bar, sheathed in copper, as are from the lives of various kings
whose rich and decadent the 20 smaller domes, and and queens of England.
Italian Renaissance style had the glass barrelvault roof which
made it a local institution, was lets in a flood of natural light.
dismantled before the demoli The market closed at the 3 State Theatre
tion of the hotel in 1969. Its end of World War I and the 49 Market St. Map 1 B5. Tel 9373
colonnade entrance, fireplaces build ing fell into disrepair. It had 6655. Town Hall, Martin Place.
and counters were reerected various roles during this time, Box office: Open 9am–5:30pm
in the Sydney Hilton basement including that of City Library. Mon–Fri. Closed Good Fri, 25 Dec. 7
and reopened in 1973. By the 1950s, after extensive 8 10am & 1pm Mon–Wed; bookings
During the week, the bar remodelling and neglect, it was essential. ∑ statetheatre.com.au.
attracts a broad range of city threatened with demolition.
workers for afterwork drinks. Refurbished at a cost of over When it opened in 1929, this
On Fridays and at weekends A$75 million, the QVB reopened picture palace was hailed as the
if a band is playing, the in 1986 as a grand shop ping finest that local crafts manship
bar bustles with a younger gallery, with over 190 shops and could achieve. The State Theatre
crowd who come to hear boutiques on four levels. At the is one of the best examples in
mostly jazz and rhythm Town Hall end a wishing well Australia of the architectural
and blues music. incorporates a stone from fantasies used to entice
people to the movies.
Its Cinema Baroque style is
evident right from the Gothic
foyer, with its vaulted ceiling,
mosaic floor, richly decorated
marble columns and statues.
Inside the brass and bronze doors,
the auditorium, which seats over
2,000 people, is lit by a 20,000
piece chandelier. The Wurlitzer
organ (currently under repair)
rises from below stage just before
performances. Now one of
Sydney’s premier concert and
theatre venues, it is also the main
base for the Sydney Film Festival,
The ornately decorated Gothic foyer of the State Theatre held in June each year (see p53).
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