elizabethstreet

There is a stereo view of this is the Australian War Memorial Collection where it is called the Commonwealth Arch. There is another stereo view in the State Library of New South Wales where it is called the Citizens' Arch for Federation Celebrations. See here: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=14831 The reverse view of the Commonwealth Arch may be seen at the University of Melbourne here: app1.lib.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/mua-search?tdetails=4548;... This arch was on the corner of Park Street and Elizabeth street. As such, that means Hyde Park can be seen at the left and right sides of the frame here.

The inset paintings here are quite unusual.

Lú - This and similar arches were erected in 1901 on the streets of Sydney to celebrate the Federation of the Australian colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia. They were temporary and taken down again in the weeks and months following Federation celebrations. As such, there was plenty of scope for creativity in construction such as the painted panels you mention. Similar celebratory arches were also erected in other major Australian cities for the celebrations.

Beautiful building. And thank you for the helpful notes.

sure looks a lot like the brandenburg gate in Berlin

Wonderful image. The tram is more like a small train.

There is an earlier photo at the same corner. The building on the corner (Thomas the Tank Engine Hotel?) is being built -

An apt opportunity to share this wonderful passage again: Sydneyites ... send carriages behind their locomotives as tall as ordinary houses. ... It was some time before we ventured on board one of these moving buildings. ... As we went along we had splendid views into bed-rooms, bath-rooms, store-rooms, top garrets, and generally the upper quarters of the houses which lined a street. Now and then a hand would suddenly snap down a blind. - Mark Kershaw, Colonial Facts and Fictions - Humorous Sketches (London: Chatto & Windus, 1886), pp. 102-4 quoted in Louise Johnson, Gaslight Sydney (Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1984), p. 48.

Well you knew I'd pipe up at some point. The hotel was the Albion Hotel. The licensee: Thomas Punch :-) It can be seen better in these images from 1909 and 1934 It got fancied up and the facade redone sometime after 1934, I think in the late 30s or early 40s. I don't know a lot about this one I'm afraid ... need to do more research! There's quite a lot of images out there on picture Australia of this corner over the years.

Nicole Davis Great stuff. It never occurred to me that the building might still be there (minus the awning, plus extra floors) . Google Street View

It's like looking through a mirror into a different time...same but different❤