The Rich Historic Past Of QT Sydney

By Niall Roeder…

CNN Money recently ran an article listing Luxury Hotels with a Rich Historic Past. In this list, QT Sydney sits proudly amongst the likes of New York’s The High Line Hotel, Barcelona’s Cotton House Hotel and Aman at Summer Palace. This got us thinking, maybe the history of QT Sydney needs to be revisited.

QT Sydney is spread across two of Sydney’s most prominent historical buildings, in the State Theatre and the Gowings building, both of which opened their doors way back in 1929. It’s crazy to think people of our great grandparents’ generation walked through the same doors and saw shows and went shopping within the very same walls that stand today. To put it in perspective, 1929 was the year the stock market crashed, the Great Depression started, Bradman scored his first test century and prohibition was still in full swing in the US. In other words, ages ago.

Originally designed by famed architect Crawford H Mackellar, the Palazzo style Gowings Building has gone from department store to offices to hotel, and since being QT Sydney, has had its gothic features thoughtfully returned to their former glory.

The grand State Theatre is an extraordinary example of eclectic architecture, mixing cinema baroque with elements of Gothic, Italian and art deco design. It’s since been recognised by The National Trust of Australia as “a building of great historical significance and high architectural quality, the preservation of which is regarded as essential to our heritage”.

QT Sydney embarked on a painstaking 17 month restoration project while readying the hotel, in an effort to return the building facade back to its former glory. The interior was also upgraded and original aspects of each building were kept wherever possible, for example the rooms still have their original timber floors.

QT Sydney’s Parlour Lane Roasters café, next to the hotel entrance on ground floor is also history-laden, with its original display glass cabinets from the State Shopping Block (Australia’s first vertical shopping centre) and beautiful heritage tiled floors. The original Gowings barber shop is still used too (cut throat shave anyone?).

The hotel itself is situated on the corner of George (quite possibly Sydney’s first street) and Market Street, two of Sydney’s original thoroughfares during the colonial years, so as you can imagine, the surrounding areas would’ve seen a world of change.

Now you have it, a small taste of the rich historic past of QT Sydney. History lesson over, class dismissed.