Probably never. In fact, it has
only been very recently that these former slums have emerged from their slumber
and prompted a renaissance of the southern end of Sydney’s CBD.
I am on a guided tour led by Sydney Architecture Walks founder and principal
guide, Eoghan Lewis, and he describes the Central railway line as Sydney’s
“Berlin Wall” – it splits the city in half with an almost impenetrable barrier.
Eoghan says it provided not just a geographic divide, but a
sociological separation, with those settlers east of the railway line generally
the moneyed classes, while those to the west were the earliest residents of
“struggle street”.
Central itself was pivotal to the city almost from its inception, being
the link between the agricultural fields of Parramatta and the rapidly growing
city. So vital and busy, in fact, that Central became the site of Sydney’s first
toll-way.
Sydney’s
Central district (circa 1819), home to Australia’s first ever toll-way
Of
course, there has been plenty of water under the bridge over the past two
centuries. Central was probably at its peak one hundreds ago when trains and
trams made it the transport hub of Sydney. Department stores bearing the names
of their founders – such as Marcus Clark, Mark Foy and Anthony Hordern – opened
in and around Railway Square, while Tooheys established a vast brewery just a
little further down the road that would often envelop the area in an aromatic
haze.
Central was at
its busiest in the first half of the 1900s – the plume of smoke comes from the
old Tooheys/CUB brewery site
Ladies
would come in to the “Big Smoke” from the suburbs and country areas for
shopping while their husbands would retire to the pubs to catch up with mates,
play a bit of two-up or just down pints of amber fluid before their wives extracted
them before (or after) the “six o’clock swill” got the better of them.
The
second half of the 20th century wasn’t kind to the precinct though,
with David Jones opening up in Market Street and then the development of
Circular Quay pushing the city’s business and retail heart a lot further north
towards Circular Quay.
Central
declined rapidly. The department stores closed, the trams stopped, even the
brewery closed. The area may have become the site for a tertiary institute –
the Institute of Technology, which then became the University of Technology –
but even that was quickly labelled as one of Sydney’s ugliest buildings. Urban
decay set in.
As
our erudite and passionate guide, Eoghan – an architect by profession –
explains: “The suburbs that surround Central – Ultimo, Chippendale, Surry Hills
and Redfern – were a cultural no-man’s land for decades, but in recent times,
this part of Sydney has experienced a resurgence in popularity with a steady
influx of young creative and a thriving contemporary art, architectural and
design scene.”
The
signs of change began just prior to the 2000 Olympics. The ABC moved its HQ to
Ultimo, a brand new hotel – Mercure Sydney – brought contemporary style and
comfort to the area, and a number of corporate office buildings were opened.
But it has really only been in the past three years that people would have
noticed the changes.
Firstly,
the brewery site was re-developed and outstanding architects such as Jean
Nouvel, Alec Tzannes and Norman Foster hired to create a dramatic design for
Central Park’s buildings. Then, UTS decided to add some of the most dramatic
new architecture seen in Sydney for many decades. The Frank Gehry “crumpled”
building will open in the second half of 2014 and will become an immediate
landmark, while DCM have designed a stunning building next to the existing
“ugly” UTS tower. And down a sidestreet, Bates Smart designed a pre-rusted
student housing building called Iglu. Off that same side street, a new street (Kensington
Street) of boutiques, restaurants and galleries is set to emerge from the
Central Park re-development that will inject a bit of Melbourne into the
Emerald City.
The Central Park redevelopment has
converted the former Toohey’s/CUB brewery site into a landscape of modern
architecture-driven buildings, while retaining some historical buildings and
adding innovative sculptures such as the Halo
The
area doesn’t ignore the stomach either. We walk towards Redfern and on the
corner of busy Cleveland Street the intoxicating smell of fresh bread comes
from Sydney’s pace-setting Brickfields Bakery, where you can stop for artisan
breads and cakes, plus fine coffee (I am told). However, you will need to like
your coffee, because queues are known to stretch almost as far as the old
Hellfire Club – which was for many years one of the area’s few – and rather
dubious – claims to fame.
Redfern
has an immediate connotation for most Australians, encouraged even more so by
the recent ABC TV series, Redfern Now. But if it has been a hot-bed of
controversy in the past, today it is a hot-spot for funky architecture.
In
George Street – where a new purpose-built cycleway is just being finalised – a
harsh metallic looking exterior amongst a row of Victorian-era houses has
become a shrine for followers of uber-trendy house design. Engelen Moore were
the designers and if the exterior is not to everyone’s taste, the interior’s
bold design, expansive space and sharp natural light has made it a favourite
for photo shoots in the glossy magazine world.
In
nearby Stirling Street there is a remarkable take on the weatherboard house.
Amazingly, the inner suburbs have been off-limits for wooden design because the
material is considered “low class” by councils, but when plans were put forward
to replace two existing wooden houses with one large wooden house, they were
accepted and the subsequent result has become known as “The Ark”. The
project has strong green considerations: passive solar design (good use of natural
ventilation/cooling and extensive shading) no A/C (apparently it works without),
solar hot water, 100% rainwater collection for re-use on site. In
combination with this, all the materials were chosen on the basis of their
sustainable credentials.
While the changes to the style
of houses and buildings have been quite dramatic, the commitment to open spaces
in the precinct has been just as significant. That is best manifested in Prince
Alfred Park that runs along Chalmers Street leading to Central Station. For as
long as I know, this was a place to be avoided, especially at night. That
wasn’t always the case, though, with an ice-rink, swimming pool and parklands
attracting the crowds until about 50 years ago. More recently it became a home
for vagrants, drunks and (at times) some even more unsavoury characters.
Prince
Alfred Park provides vast open spaces and family-friendly facilities in the
heart of the city
Today,
it is transformed. Barely visible from the road, the grounds now include tennis
courts, a magnificent swimming pool, fun children’s facilities that hark back
to the days when it was the site of a quarantine station for animals (think
elephant slide) and beautifully manicured grounds, ideal for picnics or a lazy
doze in the sun.
The
redevelopment won the Australian Institute of Landscape Architect Award for creating an
“exemplary landscape” in a changing urban environment
“The redesign of Prince Alfred Park and Pool is a poetic
reinterpretation of Sydney’s large 19th century city parks, and as such, is an
outstanding contribution to Sydney’s heritage of urban parklands,” the jury
said. “(It is) not only environmentally responsible but also a lyrical response
to a forgotten site.”
We
started at the Mercure Sydney Central so webegan to head back to the hotel, but
not before a short, and very significant, detour.
We
went under the railways that block off the two sides of Sydney (there are
proposals to build OVER the top of the railways, but I think that might be in
someone else’s life), through a tunnel that once used to be rather scary. Today
it is full of people bustling towards the UTS and Ultimo. They walk past
fascinating old photos of Railway Square and Central Station while they listen
to buskers that range from the ordinary to the…very-ordinary. Think of singing
in the shower…these buskers think they are the new Eric Clapton or Amy
Winehouse, but in the end they are just interesting buskers giving the peace no
chance.
We
end up on the other side of Central almost outside the ABC. There are railway
lines beneath our feet and as we look towards the site of the audacious Frank
Gehry building (still under wraps, but the “crumpled” building design will make
this a landmark as soon as it is unveiled), Eoghan explains that this will be another
of the “connections” that finally links the various elements of Sydney’s
forgotten south together.
The
Goods Line will connect Central to Darling Harbour, converting an old railway
freight line into public space featuring dining and entertainment areas, along
with the (already famous, but not even unveiled) Frank Gehry UTS Building (above)
The
Goods Line – a far better name than the previously utilitarian UPN (Ultimo
Pedestrian Network) – will link Central with Darling Harbour in much the same
way as the High Line did in New York. The 500 metre stretch of disused railway track will sit four metres above street level, and start from the end of the Devonshire Street pedestrian tunnel, span across a heritage railway bridge at Ultimo Road and finish near the Powerhouse Museum. There will be restaurant precincts and art and entertainment areas, and will finally end the "big divide" between east and west of the CBD.
Mercure Sydney has played a pivotal role in returning Railway Square to its former glory. The hotel has just undergone a multi million dollar refurbishment, and guests can enjoy the Sydney skyline views from the expansive second floor balcony or the rooftop swimming pool
I was part of a group being
shown the area as a result of the re-launch of the Mercure Sydney Central. We
returned to the hotel – which has just benefited from a multi-million dollar
upgrade – and we had a spectacular dinner on the extensive balcony overlooking
Railway Square. One of the group suggested – rather optimistically – that
Railway Square could become Sydney’s version of Times Square. Well, there’s
quite a long way to go on that score, but thanks to the progressive efforts of
visionaries such as Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, the city is certainly
heading in the right direction.
Further
information:
Sydney
Architecture Walks: www.sydneyarchitecture.org
Mercure
Sydney: www.mercuresydney.com.au
Peter Hook
December 2013
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