On the Saturday of the week before last, DH and I took a trip into the city. We drove in and were lucky enough to get a parking space on Wickham terrace, just around the corner from Edward St. So come with me as we walked down the hill...
Here, we walk past some unusual sculptures...
To the right of Jacob's Ladder was the old Trades Hall but it was demolished in the mid 1980s when the Trades and Labour Council moved to a site in Peel St, South Brisbane. You can just catch a glimpse of the building which took its place on Turbot St.
Striding briskly along Turbot St, we came to this impressive looking building; a building that DH and his brothers got to know well when they were young children...the dental hospital! This was, and is still, a public facility providing dental care, and providing training for UQ dentistry students. (My dad went to a dentist in private practice so I used to visit Dr Rappaport too :-( )
Our walk now continues to a triangular area of city block, bounded by Turbot, Albert and Roma Streets and I stopped when I saw this plaque which I had never ever seen before...
I had heard people talk about the old Roma St Police station...before the Transport Dept took over issuing of drivers' licences, people used to do their driving test at certain police stations. Many friends who were older than me, did their driving test at this old police station...I don't remember ever seeing it so I went looking for an old photo...again the State Library Collection came up trumps...
DH continued our walk along Albert Street and there is actually an old building that has not been demolished! When I was a girl it was called the Albert St Methodist Church...in latter times it is the Albert St Uniting Church and it is beautiful.
We're still walking down Albert Street and we're nearly at our destination...yep! Brisbane City Hall.
Our City Hall was closed for 3 years while extensive and expensive ($215 million) restoration work was done. It reopened in April this year.
We are just about to cross Ann St which will bring us to the rather desolate King George Square which is in front of city Hall.
Now as part of the restoration and renovation of City Hall, an iconic Brisbane cafe that used to be in Edward Street before the building it was in was demolished to make way for the rather grand Queens Plaza, was rebuilt in the lower level of City Hall. The Webster family, who owned The Shingle Inn, had it dismantled and then carefully stored until a new location could be found for it to be rebuilt.
Now in recent years, a Shingle Inn franchise has resulted in a plethora of 'fake' Shingle Inns in various shopping centres. Those of us who went with our mums or grandmas to the original, know they are not like the original. However, I suspect this one in City Hall won't be like 'the good old days' either. DH and I didn't have a booking so there was no chance I could try the place out that Saturday. maybe next time???
But we still spent an hour in City hall but I'll tell you all about that in another post!
Here, we walk past some unusual sculptures...
 |
| This 'piece' blocks my view of Edward St as it continues down the hill towards the Ann St intersection...the street off to the right is Turbot St and we will follow it for a while... |
 |
| This staircase is known as Jacob's Ladder and it starts up the hill on Wickham Terrace and comes all the way down to Turbot St |
Here's a photo of the old Trades Hall from the John Oxley Library collection ...
And if you look closely, you can see Jacob's Ladder on the left hand side of the lovely old building...
Now walking on just a few metres past Jacob's Ladder, there is a lovely park...because we had our car parked in a '2 hour space', I just took a quick photo and didn't read that sign...reckon I need to come back some time to read it as I suspect there is some history there.
Striding briskly along Turbot St, we came to this impressive looking building; a building that DH and his brothers got to know well when they were young children...the dental hospital! This was, and is still, a public facility providing dental care, and providing training for UQ dentistry students. (My dad went to a dentist in private practice so I used to visit Dr Rappaport too :-( )
 |
| Quite a lovely old building , although many of my childhood friends hated the place! lol |
I had heard people talk about the old Roma St Police station...before the Transport Dept took over issuing of drivers' licences, people used to do their driving test at certain police stations. Many friends who were older than me, did their driving test at this old police station...I don't remember ever seeing it so I went looking for an old photo...again the State Library Collection came up trumps...
 |
| The old Roma St Police Station, looking across Albert St... |
We're still walking down Albert Street and we're nearly at our destination...yep! Brisbane City Hall.
We are just about to cross Ann St which will bring us to the rather desolate King George Square which is in front of city Hall.
Now as part of the restoration and renovation of City Hall, an iconic Brisbane cafe that used to be in Edward Street before the building it was in was demolished to make way for the rather grand Queens Plaza, was rebuilt in the lower level of City Hall. The Webster family, who owned The Shingle Inn, had it dismantled and then carefully stored until a new location could be found for it to be rebuilt.
But we still spent an hour in City hall but I'll tell you all about that in another post!
Maria - that was fun - I often drive past Jacob's Ladder on the way home after work (no idea it was called that - I am not Brisbane born) and there are often groups of exercisers doing stretches - or running up and down the steps! Such a shame about those old building that are gone...the Dean brothers maybe? And a booking for Shingle Inn - really??
ReplyDeleteI never got to the old one - so I guess the revamped ones or franchise ones will have to do.
Always enjoy a look around Brissie. Still a beautiful place and you have a great knack of finding lots of interesting nooks and crannies. Xoxox
ReplyDeleteThere is so much history of the city that is being lost, but those old buildings were amazing werent they. I enjoyed reading about the original Shingle Inn. When I visited my Aunt in Wallangarra recently, she was telling me about her time working in the original Shingle Inn somewhere around 1950s - she was married in 1952 so it would have been prior to that.
ReplyDeletethankyou for sharing your pics maria,such a big place.xx
ReplyDeleteYes mum always took us girls to the original shingle inn. I don't think the new one is the same. They also have one at North Lakes as well. So glad the church and city hall are still standing strong. Such beautiful buildings. Thanks for sharing Maria.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a nice walk ! I don't believe I will ever get to Brisbane so it is great to see some this way!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting this. My mum's family was from Brisbane and Toowoomba and we used to meet up with my mother's aunt at the Shingle Inn. Well, it was usually my mum, my grandmother and the aunt, and I was only included once or twice. Going to the Shingle Inn was an extraordinary experience and this would be going back to the 1970s and early 80s. My mother particularly love their open crab sandwiches and I remember waffles with either maple or caramel syrup. This place seems to take me back to time of ladies, hats and gloves etc.
ReplyDeleteShame I'm locked out of Queensland due to Covid restrictions. I was planning a trip up and I would've tried it out.
Best wishes,
Rowena