more Glebe - the Town Hall project - 5 questions from 52 Suburbs

I used to live more or less across from Glebe Town Hall in a flat above the St John's Road newsagency. 
Years after I left Glebe I visited the Town Hall for salsa dancing. Now my friend Julie Mackenzie from 
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer is project architect on the planned 'refurbishment' of the Town Hall. I took the
opportunity to mini-interview Julie about the project in what I hope to make a regular 'column', 
'5 questions from 52 Suburbs'...

Julie, welcome to ‘5 questions from 52 Suburbs’.

Thanks, good to be here.

welcome to Glebe Town Hall

q1 Can you please give us a quick snapshot of the project.

In a nutshell the Glebe Town Hall project is about breathing new life into a heritage listed 1880s 
building - balancing the old and new and ensuring that the building is preserved for future generations.
It’s about respecting the heritage significance of the building while ‘modernising’ it with creative, 
contemporary and elegant architectural design.  

Glebe Town Hall was designed in the Victorian Free Classical Style by local architect Ambrose
Thornley Junior. Built in two stages, in 1880 and 1891, it was one of the grand town halls in Sydney
with richly decorated interiors and modern facilities. Today, not surprisingly, these interiors and
‘modern facilities’ need some upgrading.

in need of refreshment

To achieve this the project involves internal refurbishment, landscaping, a modest contemporary
addition and improved accessibility and wayfinding.

Construction is due to start mid 2010 and finish late 2011.

can we fix it, yes we can!

q2 What was the catalyst for the refurbishment?

The condition of the building fabric, a lack of equitable access and the desire to improve the building
to better suit community needs were all catalysts for the City of Sydney to embark on this refurbishment.

a grand space




stars up above




do the cha cha

q3 What will be the major changes and challenges? 

The original building fabric will be conserved and new services and amenities inserted. 

The most visible change will be a contemporary addition to the rear. This will provide equitable
access to the building and includes a new stair and lift. 


soon to be given a lift

The rear will also be landscaped and an accessible ramp added.

The major challenge is respecting the heritage significance of the building whilst providing for 
contemporary needs, as well as achieving a certain level of environmental performance.

flowers for the brave

q4 Colour-wise will it change radically?

We’re basically returning the exterior of the building to its original finishes. The sandstone base will
be revealed and the upper level painted a matte stone colour. This is based on paint scrapes 
revealing beneath the various ‘paint jobs’ that the Town Hall was originally painted this colour.




peach to be replaced by stone

q5 And finally, any quirky bits of trivia? 

There’s a stair to nowhere over the Mt Vernon Street exit and if you fell foul of the law, you might
have ended up in police cells that used to exist in the basement of the building.

through a glass darkly





a stack of things to do

night life




Many thanks to Julie for her time and I'll be checking in now and then over the next few months to 
see how the Glebe Town Hall project is evolving. 

See you next Monday for Suburb No 23.

Suburb No 22: Glebe

Having started my walk down memory lane with Newtown I thought I may as well finish it by revisiting
the suburb I lived in when I first left home - Glebe (or The Glebe if you want to be pernickety
about it).

And it has been raining cats and dogs of late as every slightly damp and musty smelling Sydney-sider
will attest. Which made me think - do I really want to drive for an hour to a faraway suburb to be 
greeted with sheets of unfriendly-to-camera rain? So as much as I am itching to get beyond the city
limits - it's been a while I know - a closer suburb made sense. 

So Glebe. 19 years old, I shared a flat with my lovely friend Fiona above the newsagency on St Johns 
Road (it's still there) and worked at the Pudding Shop (when it was double the size it is now) and
the Habit Wine Bar (now the Different Drummer). Somehow, in between the waitressing and the
many gorgeous boys I befriended, I studied law at Sydney uni (if ever someone spent three years of
their life studying the completely wrong subject, it was me).

Random things I remember: Cheap rent, lots of students. Hippy and herbal. Vocal feminists.
You went to the Valhalla Cinema but not the Toxteth Hotel. Cafe Troppo. Gleebooks. Badde 
Manors and the markets. The Harold Park Hotel.

Much has changed - all of the above in fact aside from Gleebooks, Badde Manors and the markets
(and Harold Park Hotel - except it's had a radical face-lift). The first thing the locals mention
is that the 'yuppies' have taken over. But what they get really hot under the collar about is the 
demise of two much loved 'institutions': the Valhalla, an arthouse cinema (now offices), and the 
Blackwattle studios (now apartments).

Some history: The Wangal people booted out in 1780s to make way for a 'glebe' (church owned). 
Later became heavily industrial (timber, manufacturing) and blue collar. Gentrified in the late 
20th century and now a mix of amazing old mansions, more modest terraces, a pocket of Housing
Commission and a handful of newish apartment complexes. The suburb also has one of the highest
Aboriginal populations in Sydney.


Part 1: The long-time residents


deeply rooted in Glebe







Badde Manors, busy day and night







the only thing that has changed is the clientele








would a chai latte help? (stuffed antelope from Friend in Hand pub, latte from BM)








the old and the new (tiles in long-established cafe and hats in new Vietnamese restaurant)



 



old playgrounds (a rare roundabout at Glebe Point park and coloured poles, Glebe Public School)



 




the girl with the pink stripe








 remember these? :: 1 (roundabout at Glebe Point park)







remember these? :: 2 (roundabout at Glebe Point park)







 ch-ch-ch-changes (A tram travels up Glebe Point Road past the Astor, which turned into the Valhalla - 
and a shot of the building as it is today)







floral (wall art in the Valhalla building)








  
pieces of the past (stairway on Glebe Point Rd and original floor in Valhalla building)







 'dare to think for yourself' (helped by some reading from Gleebooks)







colourful markets (shots from last winter as Glebe Markets were rained out this week)



 



similar vintage (An old Mini Minor and clothes sold at Glebe Markets)




 




not a maxi









i see a bridge in your shoes (Anzac Bridge was originally named Glebe Island Bridge)







no men allowed in the convent (St Scholastica Convent)







 S is for service (St Scholastica Convent)





Part 2: Been Here Forever but About To Leave

Namely Harold Park, home to harness racing. Never went when I lived in Glebe - this was my first time.
And last, unless I plan on going in the next 12 months before it goes under the hammer. Apparently
harness racing just doesn't cut it anymore with a city audience awash with entertainment options. 
So they're selling up and moving on. I'm not really a fan of the sport but nonetheless, Harold Park
has been there forever and it's a nice big slice of open space in a crowded city. Ah well...




 where would you rather be on a Friday night? (Seating at Harold Park and a Vietnamese restaurant)







 ghosts of the past :: 1 (old ticket sign and booth at the Harold Park)








ghosts of the past :: 2 (old tram shed next to the Harold Park)







2 wheels and 4 legs (buggies getting ready for racing at Harold Park)







white socks all around 







they both want to fly 








"...and Lady Grey is out in front" (Harold Park and tea from Badde Manors)








i see spots



 



maybe these clothes once sat here (vintage fashion from Glebe Markets and Harold Park seating) 



 




maybe these clothes once watched this (vintage fashion from Glebe Markets and Harold Park Paceway)







 they have more in common than they may think (a driver and a young Aboriginal guy)







 we all live under the same sun (sun from the Aboriginal flag and the Aboriginal guy's 
t-shirt with Asian characters printed over the sun) 







different lives (Montana, the name of one of Glebe's beautiful homes and Moree, a town in rural NSW, scribbled on a wall)







Part 3: The transients



some people put down roots while others just keep moving (a young traveller)







wending her way around the country (I thought her tattoo was just a pretty flower but she told me all 
about the deeper meaning of it - I should have written it down because I can't remember exactly what she said...)






the Yuppie and The Young Ones (a wall mural and a group house - the boys are getting evicted soon...)







he may be homeless soon but at least he has his clarinet 








the clarinet in the stained glass window (from Glebe Town Hall)






Part 4: I can't go past old tiles



patterns from the past







did they design the tiles to look like a Chinese Bagua? (dragon from Sze Yup Temple & Joss House)



 




Escher-esque





It was bucketing most of the week so I'm surprised I got as many shots as I did. 



if it rains anymore it might look like this (painting from Badde Manors)







And on a cheesy note...



love is in the air


Beauty? Yes, in the lovely old homes, the even older trees down at the park (and that glorious 
old roundabout!). And in the way that despite the obvious changes, there are still enough remnants
and reminders of the past to make the present that much richer.


I'll be posting a special second Glebe post tomorrow - about the plans for a little spit and polish
to be applied to Glebe Town Hall. The project architect for the 'refurbishment', Julie Mackenzie
from Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, happens to be one of my dear friends. So I asked her a few questions
about the project. It's the first of the '5 Questions from 52 Suburbs' mini-interviews I hope to do 
along the way.


See you tomorrow!