Dawes Point, The Wharf Theatre

Walsh Bay, on Sydney Harbour, stretches between Dawes Point and Millers Point. The Walsh Bay wharves were originally part of Sydney's port facilities. The Wharf Theatre opened in 1984 in the redeveloped warehouse building on Pier 4 and Pier 5. It contains two theatres: Wharf 1 has 339 seats and Wharf 2 has 205 seats. It is the home base for the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Dance Company. It also features The Wharf Restaurant at this end of the building.

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Haymarket, Sydney Entertainment Centre, sign

The Sydney Entertainment Centre is located on Harbour Street, in the inner city suburb of Haymarket. It was opened in 1983 on the former site of the former Fruit and Vegetable Markets, which were part of Paddy’s Markets. It is one of Sydney's larger concert venues, which can accommodate over 13,000 people. Although this entertainment centre is less than thirty years old, there are plans to demolish it and replace it with a new convention centre. 

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Haberfield, theatre

The former Haberfield Theatre is located on Ramsay Street, in the inner west suburb of Haberfield. It was built in 1925 with the initials "HT" in the Classical Revival style facade. It replaced the Haberfield Model Pictures which had been built in 1912 and served a dual use as a roller skating rink and cinema. The new theatre was renamed Elite Theatre in 1940 and operated independently until it closed in 1970. It was converted into a supermarket and since 2009 has operated as IGA Lamonica.

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Sydney Opera House, steps

The steps of the Sydney Opera House, viewed from the Tarpeian Way Gate steps, which lead up to the Royal Botanic Gardens. It has been dubbed the 'Oprah House' this week, since American chat show host Oprah Winfrey is recording a couple of shows on the steps here tomorrow.

Enmore Theatre

The Enmore Theatre is Sydney’s oldest and longest running live theatre, located in the inner west suburb of Enmore. Originally built in 1908, it opened to the public as a photo-play theatre in 1912. It was extensively renovated in 1920 and a number of times since then, so that it includes elements of Art Nouveau, Edwardian, Art Moderne and Art Deco styles of architecture. In 1969 it was renamed the Finos Theatre and screened Greek language films until the 1980s when audiences declined. The building was refitted and reopened in 1985 with its original name of Enmore Theatre. This photo is from a couple years ago when Australian rock band Jet were playing.

Dawes Point, Sydney Theatre Company

Sydney Theatre on Hickson Road at Dawes Point is located opposite the Walsh Bay wharves.  It seats up to 896 people and is managed by the Sydney Theatre Company, which was established in 1978. The company also manages The Wharf Theatre located nearby at piers 6/7 and theatre productions at the Sydney Opera House. Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton joined the Sydney Theatre Company as Artistic Directors at the beginning of 2008.

Newtown, St Georges Hall

St George's Hall on King Street, in the inner city suburb of Newtown. This heritage Victorian Italianate building was built in 1887. The front of the building contained shops and offices, while the back consisted of the main hall and several smaller meeting rooms. It is now part of the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts.

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Eveleigh, CarriageWorks

CarriageWorks is a multi-venue arts centre dedicated to the development and presentation of contemporary arts. CarriageWorks is housed in the old Eveleigh railway yards (top) and features theatre spaces, gallery and exhibition spaces, rehearsal rooms, a scenery workshop and office space. The inner city suburbs of Redfern, Eveleigh and Darlington have a high indigenous population and Yaama Dhinawan (left) is a training, community and function centre located on the Carriage Works site. According to the 2006 Census, 2.4% of the Australian population reported having Aboriginal or Indigenous ancestry. I didn't have many photos with an indigenous theme that I could use for my Harmony Day theme this week, so I need to rectify that soon.

George Street, theatre

The George Street Theatre is one of the few surving heritage buildings in what was the theatre district. It is a stucco building in the Californian Spanish Mission style. The building housed a 'Planet Hollywood' restaurant back in the 1990s. The globe that was used by the once popular chain throughout the world has been retained by the current tenant, the 'Star Bar'. A gelato shop and fast food restaurant occupy the ground floor.

Campsie, Australia map

We're counting down to the Australia Day public holiday on Monday, which makes this weekend, a long weekend. I thought I'd post an interesting display with an Australian theme that I found in Campsie. It's a map of Australia (left) made up of many pieces, which I think is supposed to symbolise all the different people from all the different countries around the world, that have come to Australia and helped create this great nation. It's quite suitably placed in Campsie, which is a very multicultural south-west suburb. It's located opposite the council chambers for the City of Canterbury, on the side of the Orion Function Centre (right), previously the Orion Theatre, an art-deco cinema on Beamish Street.

Bass Hill drive-in

Bass Hill was one of the last surving drive-in cinemas in Sydney until it closed in 2007. Luckily, I managed to snap this photo before it was demolished a few months ago to redevelop the site into a large residential estate. Drive-in cinemas were very popular in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. Their popularity declined in the 1980s, as video cassete recorders and tapes increased in popularity. I have some fond memories of my parents taking me to the drive-in at Matraville, as a child back in the 1970s. The only drive-in still open in Sydney is at Blacktown.