Housing the Port Macquarie Theatre, Regional Art Gallery and Visitor Information Centre, the Glasshouse Arts and Visitor Centre is a great place to visit, because not only does it have these things, but there are ruins in the basement!
If you want to find out what to see and do, or find accommodation, this is the place to go. The staff are super friendly and helpful and do their best to help you out.
In the basement, original foundations from the previous building in the area have been preserved. Other artifacts found during excavation are also on display.
Displayed in the foyer are PK Sparkles and Lady Lola the Dancing Koala from the Hello Koala Sculpture Trail. If you’re following the trail to see the koalas you get to see two in one location.
Behind the koalas the Regional Art Gallery had some interesting artworks on display. They feature a range of contemporary, indigenous, historical, traditional, design and sculptural artworks. During the course of the year, they rotate up to 20 exhibitions through the gallery, including touring exhibitions.
PK SparklesLady Lola the Dancing KoalaBotanical Hue Extraction by Edi ClelandLife’s Many Vicissitudes by Olivia CotovichBlended by Abbey MunroeConnecting with Country by Sonia Shields and Where are we Now by Katrina ManeThe Origin of the World by Minka GillianMother Eagles Going Hunting by Iluwante Ken
Originally Sydney’s Post Office (GPO), this beautiful building has been repurposed into the Fullerton Hotel. Completed in 1891 after 25 years of construction, it served as the GPO until 1996 when the main post office relocated. Instead, Australia Post operate a smaller Postal Shop from the George Street end of the building. At this time, a refurbishment of the building took place. This entailed enclosing the courtyard into an atrium and turning the remaining building into retail shops and offices. With its prominent position on the corner of George St. and Martin Place, it’s a beautiful building and easy to find.
Tour of the GPO
Our tour of the Old-GPO took us through the building, while learning about its history. Originally designed by James Barnett, the building was later expanded as postal services grew. If you look at the exterior photo, you will see that the lower two floors have arched windows, while the upper floor’s are round. Apparently Barnett thought that the later architect ruined his design by not continuing with the arches on the upper floor.
We were able to climb the interior spiral staircase to the upper floors, but access to the clock tower is restricted. This is because the stairs are no longer safe for visitors and are in need of repair. We did see the smaller George Street clock from the round windows on the third floor. From here you are able to see the clocks mechanical workings.
The old GPO courtyard is now covered, forming an atrium where natural light streams in from the glass ceiling. This is a great sight, even from ground floor, but is much better on the access bridge from the third floor. From here you are able to look down onto what was once a bustling courtyard, but is now a relaxed open space.
Even if you do not enter the building the exterior is worth looking at because of it’s carvings and colonnade. At 114m long, it’s still one of the largest sandstone buildings in Sydney.
What Did We Think?
This was an interesting and informative tour, accessing areas usually off limits. We especially liked the atrium and internal staircase as well as the colonial sandstone architecture.
George St side of the FullertonColonnade on Martin Place side of the buildingColonnade on Martin Place side of the buildingMemorial to GPO employees killed in World War OneCeiling of the Wentworth GalleryStaircase at the Workers’ EntranceInterior of The Fullerton showing the preserved GPO building courtyardInterior of The Fullerton showing the preserved GPO building courtyardGrand StaircaseCelling above the Grand StaircaseGrand Staircase
Built between 1893 and 1898, the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) is an iconic shopping destination in the heart of Sydney, Australia. Originally designed to replace the Sydney markets, the QVB housed a concert hall, coffee shops, showrooms, warehouses and a wide variety of tradespeople. Over time things changed, the concert hall became the city library, tenants left and others moved in. In the 1930’s the original Romanesque architecture was remodelled into the Art Deco style, while shop fronts were modified and internal galleries are floored over.
As the building aged it deteriorated until there were constant calls for its demolition from 1959 to 1971. Fortunately this did not occur and the building underwent a refurbishment and restoration from 1982. Original plans, drawings and photographs were not available, so this was an envisaged refurbishment, done to the best abilities of the architects.
Today with it’s floors and galleries restored it is a wonderful place to wander through, either browsing, shopping or eating.
Tour
We organised a tour through the building which takes visitors behind the scenes into places where the general public is not able to go. The guide gave a detailed history of the building explaining many of the design features.
One of the major features of the building is the copper clad domes on the roof. Dominated by the large central dome, there are also 20 smaller cupolas on the roof. We were able to go through a service door and see the interior of several domes, being able to view their timber structure. We were also able to walk on the roof, getting a close up look at the dome’s exterior.
The true beauty of the building though is the internal design, where the stained glass of the dome, ceiling and windows provide an amazing sight. Even the floor tiles are works of art and they are best viewed from one of the upper galleries. From here you not only get a get view of the interior, but a birds eye view of the tiles’ design.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to climb the spiral staircase that is a feature of the upper floor. Apparently it is unsafe to take a group of tourists up it. Instead, this old staircase that used to be for maintenance access is now just a decoration.
What Did We Think?
This was a great tour, where we got to go behind the scenes. Being able to see inside the domes and onto the roof was great. The knowledge of the guide was amazing, not only could they talk about the building and answer questions but were also able to keep a group of tourists all heading the same way so that we stayed on time.
Queen Victoria StatueThe Queen Victoria Building and its domesEntrance staircase and stained glass windowStained glass window over the entranceSpiral Staircase to the domeSpiral Staircase to the domeThe dome from inside the buildingThe QVB clock from the upper levelLooking down from the top levelThree levels of the QVBThree levels of the QVB and the domeWooden structure of one of the smaller domesInternal structure of one of the smaller domesThe main dome from the roof
