Town Hall Upgrade
Sydney Town Hall
Sydney Town Hall is currently undergoing a major essential services upgrade as part of a long term rescue plan for the historic building which involves sensitive restoration work.
Sydney Town Hall will be closed from March 2008 to late 2009. There will be no public access to any area within Sydney Town Hall whilst the essential services upgrade works are being undertaken.
The venue is expected to reopen in late 2009 with improved facilities and services, and a new event space in the Lower Town Hall.
The Building
Owned by the City of Sydney, Sydney Town Hall is 140 years old and is of exceptional heritage significance to Sydney, to New South Wales and to Australia. It is of significance for its continued use as a Town Hall, as a performance venue and as the seat of the Council of the City of Sydney. It is a well known Sydney landmark and meeting point. The Town Hall has numerous visitors, ranging from the Royal family to local community and school groups, and a wide range of artists, professional and amateur, local and international, have performed here.
The NSW Government Architect’s Heritage Branch reports that:
The construction of Sydney Town Hall commenced in 1869, on the site of the Old Sydney Burial Ground. It was then in the heart of the commercial district and was designed to be a symbol of the wealth and status of the city. The building was constructed in two stages, the first between 1868 and 1879 which included the Vestibule and the second between 1883 and 1889.
The original Town Hall design was the result of a competition, won by J.H. Willson but his design was modified by the City Engineer to reduce the cost. Following Wilson's death Stage 1 was completed by successive City Architects. Stage 2, the Centennial Hall, was designed by Thomas Sapsford, City Architect, assisted by John Hennessy and completed under the supervision of George McRae, City Architect.
Sydney Town Hall is one of the finest examples of a High Victorian Second Empire style building in Australia. The elaborately decorated exterior and interiors are significant as demonstration of the confidence and ambition of the city. Sydney Town Hall has the first known use of Australian flora and fauna decorative motifs in an architectural setting. The Centennial Hall contains the first major use of a pressed metal ceiling in Australasia and the Grand Organ, when built, was the largest of its type in the world. The interiors of the Council Chamber, Grand Staircase and the Reception Room, as well as the surrounding chambers, are also significant, and continue to serve their original purposes as supporting Council’s busy program of civic activities.
Project Scope Of Works
Sydney Town Hall was built to accommodate the functions required of a 19th century public building. It contains a lift installed in 1906 (now the oldest known operating electric lift in NSW), air conditioning and fire protections systems almost 40 years old, and electrical systems of varying age. It is linked to Town Hall House, a 23 storey structure built in the early 1970s, housing the administration divisions of the City of Sydney.
Major works carried out in the Vestibule, Centennial Hall, Entry and North Crush Spaces in the early 1990s, as well as more recently to the Druitt Street Entry, disabled access and public toilet facilities in 2003, were a step towards bringing the building up to current standards, however the building requires further works to comply with these standards.
A major program of upgrade and refurbishments works is now being undertaken, given that the building is a focus for civic leadership, community activity and heritage conservation.
As part of the first stage of the works, an archaeological excavation beneath the Sydney Town Hall took place in January and February 2008 to ensure that important information about the Old Sydney Burial Ground affected by the proposed works could be documented and analysed.
The remaining upgrade works include the following:
- Place of Public Entertainment (PoPE) Licensing and Upgrade of Essential Services
- Upgrading and refurbishment of the Peace Hall
- New kitchen facilities to cater for modern functions
- New curatorial display and storage for the Town Hall collection
- Egress compliance works in Centennial Hall
- Comprehensive new signage throughout the building.
More Information
For all enquiries please contact:
Sydney Town Hall Venue Management
483 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: 02 9265 9333
Email: enquiry@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Last Updated: Wednesday 28 May, 2008
