Earlier in the week, April 4, was the anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of one of Sydney's most iconic and beautiful buildings, the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). The foundation stone for the QVB was laid in 1820, but when Roy looked more closely at the dates, he discovered a few fascinating facts which made him want to visit all the more. In fact, when he visited he discovered so many fascinating things that he will have to revisit in the future to tell his friends more! On this trip though Roy discovered that although the foundation stone for the QVB was laid in 1820, the building we know as the QVB didn't open until 1898. Roy wondered what happened to the site in between these two events.
The QVB, a building covering the block between George, Market, York and Druitt Streets is, Roy believes, one of Sydney's most beautiful buildings, and also one of the most fascinating. Unlike many heritage buildings in Sydney, the QVB is still essentially performing the same role as it was built to fulfil, a market and today is filled with shops and cafes. With many of the original heritage features still visible, it is a wonderful place to visit.
The story of the QVB begins long before the actual building known by this name was built. It was very important to have a good marketplace as this was where people would buy their supplies. So, right back in 1810 the site where the QVB was eventually built was set aside by Governor Macquarie as a marketplace. Ten years later a two story building was built, and at the Druitt Street end, offices built for the people who administered the markets. The building itself, known as Greenways Market House sold meats, vegetables, grains and even had a drapery area where people could buy fabric. A few years later, in 1828, the market was turned into a police station and court, but this didn't last long and in 1829 the Government ordered that the area be set aside again as a market square.
It wasn't until 1887 though that plans began to be made to build what is now known as the QVB. This was the year that George McRae was made the city architect. A year later in 1888 the first plans for a new George Street Market appeared, and in 1893 building work began. McRae ended up making four different plans for what the building should look like, in four very different styles. The committee decided to go with the Romanesque design, and it is this we still see today. In 1897 it was decided to call the building The Queen Victoria Markets, later changed to the Queen Victoria Building, in honour of the reigning monarch Queen Victoria and the market opened a year later in 1898. Originally the building had a basement level with shops, markets and storehouses, a 'Coffee Palace' which was essentially a hotel, and a concert hall which could seat 500 people. By 1901 though the Coffee Palace had become offices and the concert hall had become the city library. Over the next century there were many changes, including the basement levels being covered with a new floor. There were even plans to demolish the building in 1959 but luckily in 1971 Lord Mayor Emmet McDermott and the council decided to restore the building. In 1986 the QVB reopened its doors to the public and today it remains a beautiful and iconic building. If you would like to learn more about the history of the QVB click here.
