Type Town hall Completed 1891 (1891) Phone +61 2 9265 9189 Architectural style Victorian architecture Renovated August 1905 | Country Australia Opened 1891 Owner City of Sydney Construction started 1890 | |
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Town or city Sydney, New South Wales Current tenants Chauvel Cinema
Community radio
Public library
Venue hire Client Municipality of Paddington Address 249 Oxford St, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia Similar Victoria Barracks - Sydney, Paddington Reservoir, Juniper Hall - Paddington, Redfern Town Hall, Sydney Town Hall | ||
The Paddington Town Hall is a town hall building located in the Sydney suburb of Paddington, New South Wales, Australia. Sir Henry Parkes laid its foundation stone in 1890 when Paddington was a separate municipality. It opened in 1891 and remains a distinctive example of Victorian architecture in Sydney. The clock tower is 32 metres (105 ft) high and being on the ridge of Oxford Street, dominates the skyline.
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History and description
Built in 1891 the impressive Paddington Town Hall sits at the highest point on the Oxford Street ridge. Next to the Victoria Barracks the Town Hall has a 32-metre (105 ft) high clock tower, which was completed in 1905 to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII, dominating the Paddington skyline.
Whilst the eastern, southern, and western faces of the clock display the conventional Roman clock-face numerals, the Roman numerals on the northern (Oxford Street) side of the clock have been replaced as follows: 1:D, 2:U, 3:S, 4:T, 5:H, 6:E, 7:VII, 8:E, 9:D, 10:V, 11:A, 12:R. This was done to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII; and, commencing at where the VIII ought to be, the northern clock-face reads E.D.V.A.R.D.U.S. T.H.E. VII.
The clock was officially set in motion on Wednesday, 30 August 1905, by Mr. J.H. Carruthers, the Premier of New South Wales, who mentioned in passing that "he thought that the day on which peace had been declared between Russia and Japan was a fitting time to set it in motion" and that "he hoped there would be peace and goodwill on earth as long as the clock continued to go".
Paddington Town Hall was the site of a meeting of Rugby League players in 1908, at which the Eastern Suburbs Rugby League club, now the Sydney Roosters, was officially formed. The building now houses radio studios, Paddington Library, and is a venue for private functions. The Chauvel Cinema (part of the Palace Films and Cinemas chain) has been operating in the Town Hall since 1977, inside the former Town Hall ballroom (the original floor and ceiling were retained).