trust

Metropolitan Fire Station No 3, Circular Quay, 1890

from Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection

• 9 older comments, and then…
• beachcomber australia said:

  What an extraordinary looking building. - I wonder what it was - a Fire Station (with those doors), or the old Ports Authority/ MSB building? At least I found out where it was - at the SE corner of George St and what was then called Queens Wharf at Circular Quay. Photo taken from the old Commissariat Stores building across the road (where the Museum of Contemporary Art is now) - George Street south on the right. The contemporary map (1895) shows a triangular shape to George St there - www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.map-rm3443-sd&rgn=0... . Also the building can be seen (on the Persistent URL Zoom) here - www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/3041761855/ . I wonder if that is a Gents in the middle of the road, similar to the one in Macquarie Place?

• beachcomber australia said:

  Ah ha! - found it here - www.flickr.com/photos/state-records-nsw/2715092837/ . It was part of the old Sydney Harbour Trust building.

• klah2u said:

  beachcomber, it appears to me that the building with the watchtower and fire doors, after examining your links, is actually the Metropolitan Fire Brigade building shown on this 1905 map here - www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.map-f115-sd&rgn=-0.... If you note key #5 and pan the map down and out a little you can see the watchtower on the drawn building. Your first instinct was correct.

• klah2u said:

  I think you are right about the gents, it's in the middle of the street which would limit complaints of urinal smells from pedestrians, it has a well vented roof as well as a privacy screen for the entrance way.

• beachcomber australia said:

  Thanks for that information klah2u, especially the link to the 1905 map which I had not seen before. I can just imagine all the firemen running up the circular staircase at the corner and sliding down a pole! [see also discussion at www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/4289987600/ ]