|
The Queen Victoria Building, or QVB, is a grand Victorian building located in the heart of Downtown Sydney. The elaborate Romanesque revival architecture presents a glittering contrast to the more severe modern buildings around it. Measuring 190 metres long by 30 wide, it fills an entire city block, bounded by George, Market, York and Druitt Streets. It currently serves as a shopping centre. Image File history File links The QVB logo. ...
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is, commercially, the most important in Australia. ...
Romanesque Revival is a style of building in the late 19th century (roughly 1840 and 1900) inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque style of architecture. ...
History
 The Queen Victoria Building seen from the southern end The site, originally the first Sydney markets, was selected for the construction of a grand government building. It was designed by architect George McRae in a Romanesque style in order to employ a great number of skilled craftsmen who were out of work due to a severe recession intended to employ skilled craftsmen, out of work during a severe recession. Work on the building, originally known as the George Street Market, was completed in 1898 at which time it was renamed the Queen Victoria Building as a monument to the long reigning monarch. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x732, 230 KB) Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, July 2005. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x732, 230 KB) Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, July 2005. ...
The completed building included coffee shops, showrooms and even a concert hall. As well as providing a comfortable business environment for tradesmen such as tailors, mercers, hairdressers, and florists. Over time changes were made to the buildings function to accommodate the cities evolving needs: the concert hall became a municipal library and offices for Sydney City Council. A Street Cafe, Jerusalem, Henry Fenn (1838- ): steel engraving in Picturesque Palestine, ca 1875 A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ...
A Concert hall is a cultural building, which serves as performance venue, chiefly for classical instrumental music. ...
The Mercers Company Crest The Worshipful Company of Mercers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
The City of Sydney comprises the central business district and surrounding Inner West suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. ...
The building steadily deteriorated, and as recently as 1959 it was threatened with demolition. During the 1970s it was restored by AW Edwards, a construction company, and is now home to a wide variety of mostly upmarket boutiques and "brand-name" shops.
Architectural features
 The interior, showing the multi-levelled arcades on either side of great lightwells. The dominant feature is the huge Centre Dome, consisting of an interior glass dome and a copper-sheathed exterior, topped by a domed cupola. Many smaller domes in a range of sizes dot the roofline, most notably a pair overtopping each end of the rectangular building. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x3072, 2052 KB) Interior of the QVB, taken by myself. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x3072, 2052 KB) Interior of the QVB, taken by myself. ...
Stained glass windows, including a cartwheel window depicting the ancient arms of the City of Sydney, admit light into the central area, and the roof itself incorporates arched skylights running lengthways north and south from the central dome. The intricate colonnades, arches, balustrades and cupolas make the exterior a visual feast of Victorian fussiness.
Inside, the building consists of four main shopping floors, the top three pierced by voids protected by decorated cast-iron railings. Much of the tilework, especially under the central dome, is original, and the remainder is in keeping with this style. Underground passageways lead off to Town Hall Station at the southern end, and to a food court at the north. Town Hall is a major underground railway station in inner Sydney, Australia, 1. ...
Interior displays
 A figure of Queen Victoria, wearing her coronation regalia. Two large mechanical clocks, each one featuring dioramas and moving figures, dominate the upper voids, and may be observed from the nearby railings. The Royal Clock, designed by Neil Glasser and made by Thwaites & Reed of Hastings in England, shows scenes of English royalty from King John signing the Magna Carta to the execution of King Charles I. The Great Australian Clock, designed and made by Chris Cook, weighs four tonnes and stands ten metres tall. It includes 33 scenes from Australian history seen from both Aboriginal and European perspectives. An Aboriginal hunter circles the exterior of the clock continuously, representing the neverending passage of time. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (719x1024, 253 KB) The figure of Queen Victoria on her Coronation Day, surrounded by the Imperial Regalia. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (719x1024, 253 KB) The figure of Queen Victoria on her Coronation Day, surrounded by the Imperial Regalia. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3072x2304, 2217 KB) Summary Taken of the central mosaic on the ground floor of the QVB by myself. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3072x2304, 2217 KB) Summary Taken of the central mosaic on the ground floor of the QVB by myself. ...
Mosaic is the art of decoration with small pieces of colored glass, stone or other material. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (935x935, 484 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Queen Victoria Building User:Mike Switzerland Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (935x935, 484 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Queen Victoria Building User:Mike Switzerland Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera...
Amongst many memorials and historic displays, two large glass cases stand out. The first contains an Imperial Chinese Bridal Carriage made entirely of jade and weighing over two tonnes. It is the only example found outside China. The second is a lifesize figure of Queen Victoria on her Coronation Day in historical costume, and surrounded by the British Crown Jewels of the time. Her enthroned figure rotates slowly, fixing the onlooker with her serene and youthful gaze. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 January 1877, until her death in 1901. ...
Exterior features
 The statue of Queen Victoria, a gift of the people of Ireland. At the southern end of the building is the Bicentennial Plaza facing the Sydney Town Hall across Druitt Street. It is dominated by a statue of Queen Victoria standing on a light grey stone plinth, the work of Irish sculptor John Hughes. This statue stood outside the Irish Houses of Parliament in Leinster House, Dublin until 1947, and was given to the people of Sydney by the Government of the Republic of Ireland. It was placed in its present site in 1987. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (768x985, 220 KB) The statue of Queen Victoria outside the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (768x985, 220 KB) The statue of Queen Victoria outside the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. ...
John Hughes (born February 18, 1950 in Lansing, Michigan) is a noted film director, producer and writer, responsible for some of the most successful comedy films of the 1980s and 1990s. ...
Nearby stands a wishing well featuring a bronze sculpture of Queen Victoria's favorite dog "Islay". A recorded message voiced by John Laws urges onlookers to give a donation and make a wish. The tens of thousands of dollars cast into this well benefit deaf and blind children.
Image File history File links Qvb-fountain. ...
Image File history File links Qvb-fountain. ...
John Laws, CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a prominent and controversial radio presenter in Australia, whose mellifluous voice earned him the nickname Golden Tonsils. Since the 1970s Laws has hosted a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixes music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback. ...
External links - QVB official website
- History of the QVB
- The Strand Arcade
|
Feeds |
Contact