Theme Day - Stylish

Left: The bell for 133; Right: Mansions between Bent and Bridge Street in 1859 (SL-NSW)

Throughout the 19th century, Macquarie Street, on the eastern most ridge of the city, was regarded as the most fashionable of streets with stylish three and four storey terraces nestling along its western side.

Left: The attic windows on 133; Right: View north somewhere between 1867 and 1877

W. S. Jevons, an English economist, conducted a survey of Sydney housing which concluded that successful merchants, shopkeepers and professional men lived in mansions or villas, naming Macquarie Street as a favoured location. Politicians, and pastoralists established town-houses there. Medical Practitioners, attracted by the nearby Sydney Hospital (1816), also took up residence.

Left: The green plaque and detail at 133; Right: Looking south from Bridge Street during the 1870s

The first (stone) residence was constructd in Macquarie Street in 1819, for D'Arcy Wentworth. It was adjacent to the Hyde Park racecourse, and served for a time as the Parsonage for St James Church. It was demolished in 1888. Burdekin built his fabled, porticoed town-house there in 1842. It was demolished to make way for the connection of Martin Place through from George Street, all the way to Macquarie Street in 1933. Two of the original eight 1842 Horbury Terraces still grace the street, as does the mansion at 145, built for John Fairfax, of Sydney Morning Herald fame. For many years now, this mansion has housed the Royal Australian College of Physicians.

Left and Right: History House at 133 Macquarie Street today

There are not many of the original, stately mansions left. I have chosen to show you the mansion built in 1871 for George Oakes, politician and pastoralist, at 133. It is now known as "History House", and has been the home of the Royal Australian Historical Society since 1971. Its location would have enhanced its reputation, as it is opposite the Royal Botanic Gardens, and the very site where the Garden Palace burnt to the ground in 1881, returning the glorious view of the harbour to these most stylish of town-houses.

Lookin SW across Macquarie Street from the dome of the ill-fated Garden Palace in 1881, shortly before the fire.

This is a contribution to the City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day. The Theme for June is "Stylish". To see what other CDP bloggers have chosen to represent the theme, click here.

Ted is gripped by Jamie

Visitor To The Gateway Geyser

The Gateway Geyser has been on the blog a few times. (Some older pictures here and here.) It's the giant water jet across from the Arch in East St. Louis, Illinois, that pops up exactly as high as the Arch itself (633 feet/192 meters) if the wind isn't too high. You can see what happens if it's gusty.

This was taken under the Arch, on top of the stairs down to the Mississippi. The picture would have been okay but then this brilliant bird photobombed my shot.

That contraption on the left looks like part of a chemical plant. It's actually the suction/blower mechanism that takes grain from river barges back and forth to a big set of storage elevators off to the left of the frame.                                             

The Power of Few

“The night before this photo, we tried all day to get a good photo of the endangered white rhino,” writes Stefane Berube, who captured this shot at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda. “Skulking through the grass carefully, trying to stay 30 feet away to be safe, didn't provide me the photo I was hoping for. In the morning, however, I woke up to all three rhinos grazing in front of me.” Berube used a 50mm lens rather than a wide-angle lens or telephoto “because of its sharpness and similarity to how our eyes perceive depth in real life.”

Créations élégantes

Tomorrow is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo blogging community and the theme is 'stylish', so VDP thought an appetiser would be in order. Christiane Schmitt is miliner. Actually, some of her hats appeared on this blog in 2011 when they were on show at the town hall, it was here. Despite having seen her shop in the antiques district dozens of times, VDP had yet to enter. The hats and wedding dresses are all custom handmade in Versailles by Christiane and her daughter and VDP thinks they are rather stylish! To visit Christiane Schmitt's website, click here and to visit her daughter's page, click here!

Demain, c'est le 1er juin et donc jour de thème dans la communauté des blogueurs City Daily Photo et le thème sera "stylé, élégant" VDP s'est dit qu'un dimanche, on pouvait commencer par un apéro ! Christiane Schmitt est modiste. Ses chapeaux divins ont déjà fait une apparition sur ce blog, c'était ici en 2011, à l'occasion du salon des métiers d'art. Bien qu'étant passée des dizaines de fois devant sa boutique dans le quartier des antiquaires, VDP n'était jamais encore entrée. Les chapeaux et les robes de mariées, sont tous faits main à Versailles. Pour se rendre sur le site web de Christiane Schmitt, c'est par ici et pour celui de sa fille, c'est ici qui ça se passe !