williamstreet

great job State Library of NSW

there's a couple of radicals not wearing hats!

Wonder what the event is? The crowd is gawking at something.

That's Yurong St on the image right, a block down from College St. According to the Tooth's Yellow card, the New Zealand Hotel was on the cnr. William and Yurong Streets, Darlinghurst, from the Noel Butlin archives - openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/entities/anuarchivesit....

I believe the photo was taken from near what is now Boomerang Place, formerly Boomerang St, on the image left, previously the site of the Royal Blind Society building (1878) before it was demolished and 'redeveloped' in the early 1970s, while I was living in the 'Loo - archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/794227

If it was taken from the corner of College St., I think we'd be looking at the Australian Museum.

Here is a 1963 photo showing the Yurong St. tram tracks in front of the New Zealand Hotel and the edge of the gothic sandstone Royal Blind Society building on left - archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/596607

Intersection of William Street and Yurong Street, Darlinghurst, 1934 showing the Braille Library on left - archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/667869

Blue Mountains Library, Local Studies i think it might have been a fire at the Blind Society i think there is another photo of the fire i saw in the collection

Theo Hardeen? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Hardeen Brother of Houdini.

Post 1905 anyway for the trams are electric. I can't add anymore apart from this streetview maps.google.com/maps?q=Great+victoria+Street,+Belfast&...

Can't help with the Palace, but Mr Chas Majiltons's celebrated company performed Geo R. Sims' famous farcical comedy "the Gay City" (which has achieved an Enormous Success throughout the Country) from Sept 11th - 16th 1882 at the New Theatre Royal. (Private Boxes 40s, 30s, 25s and 20s; Balcony Stalls 4s; Upper Circle 2s; Pit 1s; Gallery 6d.) (Belfast Newsletter.) So 'The Trippers' wasn't his first trip to Belfast

Michiel2005 I don't believe it! Younger brother of Harry Houdini - that's excellent.

Robin Parkes Thanks Robin. I've a hunch around 1910, but now we know definitely post-1905.

I wonder if these photographs (here and here) looking the other way could be of the same roadworks?

Probably pellethepoet. Sydney will be nice when it's finished! It looks like they are moving the tram lines. That section of William Street was widened a few years before (1910 - 1914), and the tram lines which used to be in the middle of the road are now in the left lanes in this picture. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Street,_Sydney

hmmn ... Wikipedia in this case has its dates wrong. According to Max Kelly's 'Faces of the Street: William Street, Sydney, 1916', the authoritative study of the William Street widening, the gazetted date of resumption was 1 June 1916. However, the physical demolition was deferred for about 3 years. In total 94 properties were resumed in order to widen the road from 41 to 100 feet. Between 10 and 19 June 1916 an unknown photographer for the City of Sydney photographed the entire length of the south side of the street. The series forms part of the Demolition Books. These photographs, often with charming inadvertent details of urban daily life, are reproduced in Kelly's haunting book.

Yes, wikipedia is notoriously unreliable - that's democracy for you! William St in c.1890 (by Henry King) pre cable tram lines (1894) and pre widening. The old New Zealand Hotel is on the right - www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2362658129/

Hi Yes the image shows tram tracks being reset to align with the 'new' road alignment in April/May 1934. Note the tell tale close spaced double wires in the foreground sky. This is trolleybus wire (+ and - wires). So the trolleybuses are up and running. Why the discrepancy in time between road widening and realignment of tracks ? This is a classic Sydney tale. ... Because the City Council resumed properties and widened the street without gaining agreement with the State run and owned tramways to realign the tracks ! There was no pressing maintenance requirement to replace the running surface for the trams and the City Council would have squibbed at the thought of paying the NSWGT for moving the trackwork. This nonsense would never happen in Europe. In Europe the tramways would have be run by the City Government and co-operation rather than 'competition' would rule. Here we have a wonderful visual example of an English origin system of government in action ! (ie you separate powers and responsibilities until no specific agency has what it needs to do the actual job).