TAYLOR SQUARE is where Darlinghurst and Surry Hills meet: it creates the junction of Oxford and Flinders Streets, with Bourke Street and Darlinghurst Road nearby. It is a counduit to Randwick, the CBD, Potts Point and Bondi Junction.

It is surrounded by quirky shops, one of the last remaining Edwardian underground toilets, with its built-in salt water tanks used for street cleaning, and a magnificent 1880s Darlinghurst Supreme Court complex reminiscent of a Roman Temple.

The Darlinghurst courthouse is an imposing sandstone building designed by architect Mortimer Lewis (1796 -1879) in 1844 with a classical Greek Revival-style facade.

The highly ornate and intricate sandstone carvings on the Royal Coat of Arms on the facade of the former Darlinghurst Police Station nearby are also a visual reminder of the strength of the 19th century force of law.

Underneath the square hums the Eastern Distributor road tunnel.

The road network at the square was widened in 1907 to reduce traffic congestion and provide for electric trams, now removed, as the square was also a busy tram stop.

Today, a matrix of modern medium-rise apartments, restored 1840s sandstone cottages and terraces form a diadem of buzzing activities overhead and nearby.

Sitting in Darlinghurst with Paddington to its east, East Sydney and Potts Point to tis north and the CBD and Hyde Park four bus stops away to its west, Taylor Square is not yet its own address, but could well be.

The square is named after Sir Allen Taylor (1864-1940), timber merchant, ship builder and Lord Mayor of Sydney who was responsible for the widening of Oxford Street during his tenure.

A small island bound by traffic is called known as “Gilligan’s Island” because of three large palm trees that once occupied Oxford Street, but subsequently removed.

The popular locality is a centre of the city’s nightlife and many boutique bars, cafes and shops.

By Andrew Woodhouse, Director, Heritage Solutions

Image: Taylor Square, an area with its own buzz worthy of being its own locality