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Taylor Square Darlinghurst
This collection contains a small selection of archives relating to Taylor Square.
Oxford Street (known as South Head Road until 1875) was a substantial road, built in 1811 to connect the signal station on South Head to Hyde Park. The road became a thoroughfare and commercial strip. By the end of the 19th century it was an extremely busy road.
In 1907 the first stage in the widening of Oxford Street took place. Several buildings, including the Victoria Hotel at the juncture of Bourke, Flinders and Oxford Streets, and the Fruit Mart on the Flinders and Oxford Street corner, were demolished.
A new civic space was created on this intersection and named Taylor Square in 1908, after Alderman Allen Taylor, Lord Mayor of Sydney 1905–06 and 1909–12. Allen Taylor was the driving force behind an ambitious civic beautification scheme for central Sydney that included slum clearance, road widening and park
Taylor Square was a major junction for the tram system. Trams were replaced by buses in 1961.
Taylor Square remains an important hub for transport and city life. The annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) parade travels up Oxford Street from Hyde Park and turns into Flinders Street at this junction.
To find even more items relating to Taylor Square try the search tool.
References
John W Ross, Taylor Square History
CollectionDarlinghurstOxford Street