If you don’t feel like paying for a concert, check out the organ recital schedule – many of these events are free.
One of the city’s focal meeting points and the venue of countless events and demonstrations, Sydney Town Hall has firmly established itself as a must-see location for visitors to the New South Wales capital. It is centrally located, standing opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St. Andrew’s Cathedral, and can easily be taken in as part of a day’s exploration of the city centre.
Sydney’s Wedding Cake
The town hall was built in two stages during the 1880s. A blend of the neo-Classical and French Second Empire architectural styles, its appearance does draw occasional criticism for being overblown, with its lavishly ornate façade and wedding-cake composition. That said, it is undeniably striking to the first-time viewer, and your eye will be particularly drawn to the 57m clock tower, the focal point of the exterior.
A World-Class Music Venue
The building’s main hall, known as the Centennial Hall, contains what was once the largest organ in the world, and is still the largest to use tubular pneumatic action. Installed in 1890 after a full three years of building, it is made up of almost 9000 pipes and is still regularly used for recitals. If you are looking for a fuller experience of the place than a quick visit will allow, it is well worth stopping by for a musical performance, of which there are many different kinds. The Centennial Hall’s acoustics are world-class – in fact, until the construction of the Sydney Opera House in 1973, the town hall was the city’s premier concert venue.
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