Hotel Palisade redux

There's just so much history in the walls of the Palisade.
It was the scene of the last drinks for many Anzacs before they left Australia during the First World War, and the 'local' for the engineers and navvies working on the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Desperate wharfies seeking work at the Hungry Mile during the Great Depression would either drown their sorrows or celebrate their good fortune in finding a day's work, depending on luck. It was the haunt of 'colourful characters', the much loved centre of the Millers Point community and the headquarters of activists during the era of the Green Bans and the Patrick's dispute. 
It stood on the corner of Argyle and Bettington streets in Millers Point like an exclamation point at the end of High street. For many years it was the tallest building in Sydney, and overlooked the wharves of East Darling Harbour which provided most of its clientele. At the time of its building, workers terraces to house the wharfies were being constructed in High Street which was carved into the sandstone escarpment above the Fingerwharves and Bond stores below.
This painting shows one of the landbridges over Hickson Road, and the railings preventing revellers falling into the deep cutting in front of the Palisade. This strange configuration of the landscape makes the quirky, slightly ramshackle style of the Palisade even more startling.

In 2014, when I painted this canvas, there was a small park in front of the Palisade. It was overgrown, but its figtrees were a welcome source of shade in summer. Since the redevelopment of this area, the park is now a wide green lawn with a few saplings which will need a lot of time before they provide shade.

MP7A Hotel Palisade 2014
oil on canvas 36 x 46cm
Available
There had been an earlier, much smaller hotel built on this site in the 1880s but it was pulled down in the frenzy of slum clearances at the beginning of the 20th century.
After the end of the bubonic plague crisis in the first decade of the 20th century, the population in Millers Point increased so much that the Sydney Harbour Trust had to build replacement hotels to cater to the port workers. Henry Deane Walsh was commissioned to build the new Palisade Hotel, one of 4 that were built by the Trust, the others being Dumbarton Castle, the 'Big House' (Moretons in Sussex Street- now the Sussex Hotel) and the Harbour View Hotel.

MP30 The Reopening of the Palisade
2015 oil on canvas 51 x 25cm

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The 5 storey hotel was built in 1915-16, and was one of the last Sydney buildings to be designed in the 'Federation Free' style, with parapets, and sandstone banding decorating the red brick masonry.
From the 1920s the head lease for the hotel was owned by Tooth and Co. who sub let it to various licensees.

MP30 The Reopening of the Palisade
2015 oil on canvas 51 x 25cm

 Enquiries about similar paintings 

From 1936, when the role of the Sydney Harbour Trust was taken over by the newly formed Maritime Service Board, title to the hotel was issued to the MSB, although Tooths continued to lease it until 1950. At that time the licensee, P. K. Armstrong, obtained the lease.
In February 1987 title passed from the MSB into private ownership, then in 1994, Palisade Properties Pty Ltd obtained title.

MP30 The Reopening of the Palisade
2015 oil on canvas 51 x 25cm 

Before redevelopment, the Palisade loomed abruptly on the hill overlooking the wharves. Many wharfies joked that they didn't need to have built the Harbour Control Tower, just use the roof of the Palisade.

MP30 The Reopening of the Palisade
2015 oil on canvas 51 x 25cm 

Enquiries about similar paintings

The Barangaroo Headland Park has been terraced up from the shoreline so that the path leads to the Palisade.

There's also now a series of sandstone steps from the edge of High Street leading to nothing in particular that serve as a prelude to the Barangaroo Headland Park further down.

Related Posts

Sign of the Palisade

 

No Place like Home

 

The Last of the Hungry Mile 

Sydney Sandstone - Painting the Lands Department building

The Lands Department building 22-33 Bridge Street Sydney, is one of the most outstanding surviving Victorian buildings in Sydney. The building had been used continuously for the purpose which it was designed for - as the administrative head office of Department of Lands.
Unfortunately, this will soon change.
I don't know whether all the original features which makes this building so wonderful will be retained, but I thought that I should attempt to paint it while it is still in its original state.
I managed to set up my easel in Macquarie Place Park, directly opposite the corner of Bridge and Gresham street.

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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James Barnet was the architect mostly responsible for the design of the Lands Department building, although Walter Liberty Vernon and William Edmund Kemp also made contributions.

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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The foundation stone was laid in 1876 by the Minister of Lands and it was completed in 1893. The Renaissance Revival Style facades are of dressed Pyrmont sandstone

The ground, first, and second floors have pilasters and entablatures of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders respectively, each standing on appropriate pedestals.  

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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A large copper dome, 55' square at the base, but changing to an octagon at the top, rises above the Bridge Street facade.
The clock tower has a copper onion-shaped dome which was allegedly influenced by the shape of the water carafe of Sir Henry Parkes.

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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The best of Classical tradition was fused with the most cutting edge technology for the period. Heating, lighting, ventilation and a system of communication involving speaking through tubes and operating pneumatic bells was incorporated in the design.

Builder John Young introduced one of Sydney’s first reinforced-concrete floor slabs, with concrete vaults to improve fire resistance.

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
 2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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There are 12 niches on each facade, which were all intended to be filled with sculptures of explorers or legislators who made a major contribution to the settlement of the nation.

Although 48 men were nominated by the architect as being suitable subjects, most were rejected and only 23 statues were commissioned, leaving 25 niches unfilled. 

In 2010-11 a new statue of colonial surveyor James Meehan (1774-1826) was created and placed in an empty niche on corner of Loftus/Bent Streets.

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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In my painting the statue of the botanist Sir Joseph Banks is on the left, and the statue of the explorer Sturt on the right.

U235'Statues of Explorers', Lands Department
2015 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
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In the late 1980s the building was earmarked by the NSW Governnment as one of the potential sites for conversion into a casino.
To protect the building from unsympathetic development, a Permanent Conservation Order was passed by the NSW Heritage Council. 
However, although it is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in Australia, it still faces an uncertain future.
Both Sydney’s historic
The hotel will open in 2021 after the government employees finally leave in 2018.

Sydney sandstones to become luxury hotel

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In the shadows - Painting the Justice and Police Museum

Pyrmont Sandstone - The Lizards of Oz

In the Shadows- Painting the Justice and Police Museum

The Sydney Open will be held next Sunday. For just one day a year, the secrets of Sydney’s most treasured and architecturally significant buildings are revealed to the public.
So, in the spirit of this event, I decided to paint one of Sydney's most beautiful sandstone buildings.
Although it was difficult, bordering on the impossible,I managed to set up an easel and paint 'en plein air' right in the heart of the CBD.

Plein air painting of the "Justice and Police Museum"
2015 oil on canvas 13 x 18cm

 

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The Justice and Police Museum is one of the city's most overlooked heritage gems. It is hidden away on the quiet leafy corner of Phillip and Albert Streets, a stone's throw from Circular Quay.

It was a tight squeeze for the bendy bus!

Plein air painting of the "Justice and Police Museum"

2015 oil on canvas 13 x 18cm

 

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It incorporates the old Water Police Court (1856), designed by Edmund Blacket; the Water Police Station (1858), attributed to Alexander Dawson and the Police Court (1886), designed by James Barnet. 
The complex had remained in use as a police station as late as 1985, when the area was a busy legal hub.
Today the museum tells the story of the seamy side of Sydney’s past.

Plein air painting of the "Justice and Police Museum"

2015 oil on canvas 13 x 18cm

 

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The golden sandstone, graceful columns and dappled shade give a deceptive impression. 
Behind the elegant facade lurk dingy 1890s holding cells, offices, charge room and courts. A century of underworld Sydney is contained inside.

Plein air painting of the "Justice and Police Museum"

2015 oil on canvas 13 x 18cm

 

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The guilty, the innocent and the unknown. 

Mug shots of bushrangers, sly groggers, drifters, razor gangs and "colourful racing identities" rub shoulders with cops and judges.

Plein air painting of the "Justice and Police Museum"

2015 oil on canvas 13 x 18cm

 

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So very Sydney.

Related Posts

Sydney Sandstone - Painting the Lands Department Building

Sign of the Palisade

The Hotel Palisade was closed in 2008, just after the World Youth day celebrations and spent seven years in hibernation.

MP7 Sign of the Palisade 2014
acrylic on canvas 10 x 10cm
Available for sale

During its long sleep, many locals worried that the Palisade would never reopen, and would end up as apartments like so many other historic buildings, but it reopened in 2015, appropriately just in time for its 100th birthday.

MP39 'Sign of the Palisade' 
2014 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
Available for sale

The renovations added a rooftop cocktail bar boasting sweeping 360 degree views of the Harbour, Millers Point and Barangaroo, as well as a new main bar and boutique accommodation.

I'm not a personal fan of the blocky design of the new roof, which to me spoilt the line of the original roof-top design, but at least it's not too obtrusive from ground level.

I'm so used to seeing it from a bird's eye view from the top floor of the Harbour Control Tower, which has been my studio for well over a decade.

Although a waterfront pub, it wasn't the pub of choice for the smarter wharfies - at least not since 1972 when the Harbour Control Tower was built, anyway, for the good reason that being directly opposite the Harbour Tower, the HarbourMaster had an excellent view of the comings and goings of any stevedores that might have clocked off early for a long liquid lunch. Moreton's (aka 'The Big House') where Sussex Street becomes Hickson Road, was overshadowed by the escarpment below High Street, and there was an entrance to the Lord Nelson in Kent street that also wasn't able to be overlooked. The entrance of the Hero of Waterloo in Lower Fort Street also wasn't visible to any sticky beaks in the eye in the sky.

The Hotel Palisade is now a seven-storey masonry building banded with strips of sandstone. There is a basement, five storeys of rooms and the new roof-top enclosed bar and terrace.

MP39 'Sign of the Palisade' 

2014 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm

Available for sale

This small canvas, painted 'en plein air' just before the re-opening, features the iconic name plate which is attached to the parapet. I'm fascinated by the way that the "is" of the Palisade sign is enclosed inside a sandstone vignette, while the rest of the word is painted on the brick facade.

Related Posts

Millers Point from the top of the Harbour Control Tower

My page of Millers Point Paintings

The Last of the Hungry Mile

Illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows- Painting the Dunlop - Slazenger factory Part 2

The graffiti inside the abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite remember what it was.

'Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory
Soda panorama' 2015
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm 
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The walls are rich in texture, vibrant in colour and elaborate in detail.

They are possibly full of hidden meanings, incomprehensible to the uninitiated, or it could be just random doodling.

'Abandoned Dunlop-Slazenger factory
Soda panorama' 2015
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm 
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The calligraphy is cursive and the chunky letters are interlocked like links in a chain, making the words hard to read yet hypnotic to look at.

'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm  
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There is a "horror vacui" - blank space isn't tolerated and won't last long.
Images are scattered throughout the factory, but the text dominates and has become imagery in its own right.

'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm  
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The letters are outlined in black, often with highlights of white or red on the ascenders (the parts of letters such as "h" "b" or "d" that extend above the line)  or descenders (the parts of letters such as "g" "q" or "j" that extend below the line).

Occasionally backgrounds of gold or silver add a bit more bling and some are even adorned with star bursts.

'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm

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John Paul, the demolisher who had given me the heads up about the site, finally nailed it.

The Book of Kells, he said. (John Paul is Irish!)

To be sure, to be sure!

 Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm  
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This is a close up of my painting of the graffiti on left hand wall, and you can see that John Paul really had a point.

In another context, I could easily imagine one of the letters as a historiated initial in a medieval illuminated manuscript.

A historiated initial is an enlarged letter at the beginning of a text, which contains a picture.

Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm  
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This is a closeup detail of my painting of the graffiti in one of the small rooms to the left hand side.

This font is dramatically serif (there is a large difference between thick and thin lines) and is extravagantly embellished with finials( tapered or curved ends), swashes (extended  decorative flourishes)and lachrymals (teardrop shapes).

 Detail of 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory
'Soda' panorama'  2015  oil on canvas 91 x 183cm  
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Many different hands have been at work here, overlapping and adding marginalia, drolleries and the odd obscenity.

 "Soda" has been written in a more "slab serif" style, where there is less difference between thick and thin lines.

This tag stands out from its neighbours due to its cleaner font as well as its striking silver, black and pink colour scheme.

 Detail of windows in 'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory
- 'Soda' panorama'  2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm  
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And what could go better with illuminated manuscripts, than stained glass windows?

These windows are very stained indeed.

The graffiti is probably much older than on the walls, as they would have only been accessible when the building still had a roof, which was at least a couple of years ago.

There is no lead separating the colours, however, being a factory, the windows were made from glass strengthened by an internal diamond grid of wiremesh. Breaks in the glass add spiderweb patterns.

'Abandoned Dunlop - Slazenger factory -
 'Soda' panorama'   2015 
oil on canvas 91 x 183cm                                       
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At sunset the window colours are reflected on the ground in a series of rainbows, an effect I last experienced visiting Chartres cathedral.

Related posts

'Palimpsest - Painting Dunlop - Slazenger factory' Part 1