The Bright and Bold – Happy and Hippie Neighborhood of Sydney
Darlinghurst is located in the east of the CBD of Sydney. It is an inner-city suburb with undulating Surry Hills and plane trees merging into the terraces of the bold and bright Darlinghurst city. It has a dense population of people living mostly in the terraced houses or apartments. The brothels and the bordellos in the early Darlinghurst have been replaced by the community parades and coffee houses. The rainbow flags flying over the galleries in the Oxford Street, the boutiques, and the cafes make it a colourful and vibrant view at Darlinghurst. Such vivacity appeal to the crowd and the energy is always high amongst the people in the city.
History
John Palmer was the person who was first granted the land and was named Henrietta Town. Governor Darling next succeeded the land in 1831 and named it Darlinghurst, after his wife. The Darlinghurst city had 17 extravagant white coloured villas that were occupied by the wealthiest people. The villas were later subdivided and took the shape of high-density buildings. The Forbes street saw the construction of the Darlinghurst Gaol, the Oxford street turned into a very busy commercial center, and many historical buildings were built at this time. Slowly the Darlinghurst’s profile declined and came to be known as Sydney’s LGBT community.
Real Estate
The Darlinghurst’s boutiques and brothels have transformed to bright terraces and cozy apartments. The neighborhood is now home to stylish professionals and visitors. It is a cosmopolitan suburb well known for an exceptional history, restaurants, boutiques, buzzing cafés, trendy bars and a great endless nightlife. There are apartments where the major population resides, one-third of them live in terraces and the remaining of them live in smaller houses.
Commercial Shopping Centers
The basic commercial activities take place in and around the Oxford street. Other shopping and commercial centers are Darlinghurst Road, Flinders Street, Victoria Street, Cleveland Street, Dowling Street, and Crown Street. These commercial areas feature music stores, homeware stores, clothing shops, second-hand clothing stores, designer boutiques, restaurants, cafes, food stores, pubs, nightclubs, and more.
Schools and Colleges
There are several schools like Sydney Grammar School on the college street, Darlinghurst Public School on the Womerah Avenue, SCEGGS Darlinghurst in the Forbes Street, University of Notre Dame’s School of Medicine, National Art School, and the East Sydney High School is on William Street.
Renowned Landmarks and Buildings
Darlinghurst Gaol, the first prison was designed by colonial architect Francis Greenway is a famous landmark in Darlinghurst. The connecting Darlinghurst Courthouse that faces the Taylor Square is an operational body to date. The St John’s Anglican Church on the Darlinghurst Road is designed by the colonial architect Edmund Blacket which is one of the best examples of the Gothic restoration of the church in Australia. The Bourke Street Police Station and Darlinghurst Fire Station are also considered as the National Trust.
Arts and Culture
One of the major festivities of the gay culture is celebrated at the Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, the yearly celebrated Mardi Gras festival takes over the main band every year in the month of March. It attracts over 130 floats and more than 300,000 spectators. The art galleries that occupies all across Darlinghurst are Black Eye Gallery, Conny Dietzschold Gallery, King Street Gallery, Gallery 9, Liverpool Street Gallery and more.
Darlinghurst, with lively coffee houses, thriving gay pride culture, designer boutiques, and impressive galleries is a great city to be in. Come and join the joys of the city.
