Macquarie precinct

The area around Hyde Park is one of our favourite parts of Sydney. It’s like a slice through 200 years of colonial history.

The brick building is Hyde Park Barracks, designed by convict architect Francis Greenway in 1819 to house convicts. The church is Saint James, the oldest church in Sydney, also designed by Greenway and built between 1819, and 1824. Both were commissioned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie who was responsible for so much of the face of Sydey in the early years.

By contrast, Centrepoint Tower was built between 1974 and 1981. For a while it was the tallest building in Sydney. The new dark grey JP Morgan building wasn’t even there last time we looked.