The Alexandria Town Hall is an Australian
heritage-listed town hall located in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, A Suburb of
Sydney,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. It stands at 73 Garden Street. It was built in 1880–81 in the
Victorian architectural style by Ferdinand Reuss Snr. Significant alterations which changed the facade to an
Inter-War Free Classical style were completed in 1928 by architects D. T. Morrow and Gordon. The Town Hall was the seat of
Alexandria Municipal Council from 1881 to 1948 and since 1948 has been a branch library, community centre and council depot for the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
and the
South Sydney councils.
History and description
The site of the Town Hall was acquired by the council in Garden Street in 1879 and Ferdinand Reuss Snr was commissioned as the architect. The Town Hall was completed and opened in June 1881 by the Mayor, Charles Brandling Henderson. By 1893 a two storey terrace, serving as a residence for the mayor, was constructed to the north of the Town Hall.
[
]
Later history
Following the amalgamation of the Alexandria municipality into the City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
in 1948, the town hall ceased being a council seat and discussion occurred over its future use.
The hall was considered for use as a branch of the City of Sydney Library
The City of Sydney Library network consists of nine branch libraries and two 'library links', located in Australia within the City of Sydney Council administrational area.
History
A free public lending library service has existed in Sydney si ...
(nearby Waterloo Town Hall was also later chosen) and on 16 February 1951, Sydney Lord Mayor Ernest Charles O'Dea
Ernest Charles O'Dea (19 February 1889 – 21 November 1976) was an Australian trade union official, Labor Party politician, Lord Mayor of Sydney and Member of the New South Wales Parliament.
Early life
O'Dea was born in Armidale
Armida ...
opened the Alexandria Branch Library, with the hall venue, a limited number of council offices and the rear depot retained. From 1968–1982 and 1989–2004, the hall came under the control of the Northcott/South Sydney Municipal Council and the City of South Sydney
The South Sydney City Council was a local government area covering the inner-eastern and inner-Southern Sydney suburbs of Sydney. It was forcibly merged with the Sydney City Council by the New South Wales State Government in 2004. The council ch ...
, and housed the offices of the Municipal Engineer's Department. The hall continued its use as a branch library until 1990 and in 1994–1997 the hall was also home to The Women's Library
The Women's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, ...
.
Heritage listing and conservation
The Town Hall, along with the "mayor's house" next door, is listed under the 2012 Sydney Local Environment Plan as "a representative example of a Victorian Town Hall modified with an Inter-War Free Classical style façade. It is representative of the work of two relatively prominent architectural practices of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries although that of the DT Morrow and Gordon practice predominate. It has important historical associations with the local community and local government in the area and serves as a representative indicator of the small inner-city Council areas which were subsumed into larger municipalities after World War II."
In March 2017, the Sydney City Council commissioned extensive restoration and conservation works to the hall, with Lord Mayor Clover Moore noting that "Alexandria Town Hall is an important civic building, we have a responsibility to make sure it meets the future needs of the community". The works, which included restoring the building's exterior and interior, were completed by the council in November 2017.
See also
* List of town halls in Sydney
This is a list of Town Halls in Sydney, Australia, with local municipality listed after it. Its main town hall is the Sydney City Hall.
* Alexandria
* Annandale
* Balmain
* Botany
* Darlington
* Erskineville
* Glebe
* Granville
* Hornsby
...
* Architecture of Sydney
The architecture of Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, is not characterised by any one architectural style, but by an extensive juxtaposition of old and new architecture over the city's 200-year history, from its modest beginnings with local m ...
References
External links
Alexandria Town Hall
– City of Sydney
{{Coord, -33.8980, 151.1975, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:AU-NSW
Government buildings completed in 1881
Government buildings completed in 1928
Town halls in Sydney
Victorian architecture in Sydney
Federation style architecture
1881 establishments in Australia
Alexandria, New South Wales