Entries about brisbane city

Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland and Australia's only subtropical capital. It is friendly, cosmopolitan city of charm and urban beauty, with fabulous restaurants, inspiring theatre, exciting nightlife, art and history.

Brisbane offers an intriguing mix of theatre, public arts program, outdoor performance and exhibitions. the Gallery of Modern Art, the Queensland Museum and the Art Gallery are all located in the South Bank precinct.

Brisbane Greeters is a free service run by local proud and passionate volunteers who are keen to share Brisbane's best spots and go behind the scenes of the city.
I met with Janice who showed me her favourite parts of her home town.

Brisbane City Hall

The civic seat of the city and is home to the Lord Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The construction of the building in the 1920s was a major Australian undertaking, ranking second only to the construction of the very famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The site of the City Hall was once a swampy waterhole known as 'horse pond' during the 1900s. this made construction of City Hall quite difficult. In fact these watery conditions meant continuous pumping was needed to keep the pile shafts dry during construction.
European observers recorded that the water on the site was deep enough to swim in!

BasementOriginally this level of the building was the location of a soup kitchen for women and children. More recently this space has
become the home to the much loved Red Cross Café which was established by Brisbane City Council and the Red Cross as
a place for homeless and disadvantaged youth to access free meals, showers/toilets and health facilities. This level is now
also the location of a new industrial kitchen which lays beneath the Auditorium floor.
In the depths of the building is the iconic and heritage listed “signature wall”..which contains signatures, names and dates from many soldiers of different nationalities stationed in Brisbane during World War II.

Discovered in 2008 hidden beneath layers of plaster were names, service numbers and amusing mottos written by approximately 150 WW2 servicemen between 1941 and 1943. This was was originally the back wall of a men's urinal, located in the gents lavatory accessed via the Red Cross Tea Rooms.
Brisbane City Hall played a vital role during World War II as a central location for the voting and other community services. Organisations such as the Australian Red Cross provided cups of tea, a friendly ear, domestic services as well as social and volunteering activities. the Australian Comforters Fund provides care packages that likely included the pencils used on the signature wall, 1944

Soldiers on leave, volunteer at the Returned Soldiers Leagues Welfare Room by shelling peas, 1942

Men from the A.I.F lined up for sewing repairs at the Welfare Recreation Room in the City Hall basement, 1940.

Queensland nurses attached to the Second A.I.F (Australian Imperial Force) made their first public appearance in uniform at Brisbane City Hall, 1940.

Closed between 2010-2013 for vital restoration, Brisbane's favourite building has been returned to its former glory. While in the basement, you can examine the last remaining original supporting column of City Hall and view the damage to the foundations that preceeded the recent 3 year $215 million restoration due to extensive damage to the original foundations.

Enoggera Courtyard

has been restored as a courtyard and features a cobblestone floor

and drain

that were discovered while excavation took place in the Main Auditorium, during the building restoration. the stone is called 'tuff' and was gathered from the Kangeroo Point Cliffs.
Workers excavated 5m below the auditorium floor to find the remains of porphyry (Brisbane tuff).

Auditorium

an historic and visually stunning amphitheatre with construction inspired by the famous Pantheon of Rome.

This space houses the Willis & Sons Pipe Organ, ori1ginally built in 189 containing over 4,300 pipes, with several pipes reaching 13 metres in height. It is one of only 2 of its kind remaining in the world, the other being located in Westminster Abbey, England.
It was completely dismantled during restoration of the building.

While seated in the auditorium, you can view the amazing sight of 8500 L.E.D. lights displaying a light show over the domed ceiling.

Reflect on the history of this room, with musicians such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and KISS, along with other dignitaries such as 2 Popes, 2 Dalai Lamas, 6 Kings and Queens of Europe, including Queen Elizabeth II, Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, all visiting or performing in this magnificent space.

Lord Mayor’s office and Gold Mirror Room

used for intimate receptions and press conferences. This room was named for the large mirror classified as French second Empire, donated to Lord Mayor Clem Jones and his wife in the 1970s by the Rosenstengle family who were famous Brisbane furniture makers based in Fortitude Valley for more than 100 years.

William Bustard stained glass

Offering a burst of colour the beautiful 4.2 metre stained glass windows, created almost 100 years ago by well-known Brisbane artist William Bustard.

These magnificent windows display scenes symbolically representing colonial Brisbane, as well as Brisbane’s original coat of arms, floral emblem and motto.

Upon opening on the 8th April 1930, it was he tallest building in Brisbane and remained that was for 37years. From an architectural perspective, City Hall is a fine example of neo-classical architecture and is one of the finest civic buildings in Australia. The interiors of the building features extensive use of beautifully grained Queensland timbers and marble drawn from Belgium, Italy and within Australia. The size of the building occupies nearly two acres. It is mainly constructed of Queensland freestone, most of which was obtained from Helidon, a small town about 96km away.

The City Hall clock tower measures 92m high and was the tallest structure in Brisbane for more than 30 years until the late1960s. With an observation platform at 76 meters, it can be accessed via Brisbane's oldest lift.

The complete clock was built in Brisbane to the design of Mr Arthur Jackson.

The four impressive opal white, clock faces are almost five meters in diameter, with minute hands measuring three meters long built of sheet copper.

When the clock was built, it was the largest public clock and most modern time-keeping piece in Australia. Being the tallest structure until the 1960s, it was fitted with a red beacon at its apex to warn aircraft of this location.
The four smaller bells comprise the Westmeinster chime, or more correctly, the Cambridge Chimes and total a weight of approximately three tonnes. The large hour bell is 6'4" in diameter and weighs four and a quarter tonnes.

King George Square Foyer - the beautiful foyer incorporates many features typical of the 1920s such as the enormous metal and glass chandeliers that light the space, hanging from the elaborate coffered ceiling. The grand staircase is made of Italian marble from the same quarry used for Michelangelo's sculpture of David Another highlight is the mosaic floor.

The black and white colours were often used in the formal buildings of ancient Greece and Rome.

Shingle Inn Café

An iconic 1936 walnut-panelled café that has been restored to it's former glory was much loved by the people of Brisbane, the features and fixings are from the original Shingle Inn Café that was located on Edward St.

They were designed by TR Hall who partnered with George Prentice to design Brisbane City Hall.
Lord Mayor's Foyer features photographs of all of the past Mayors.

Copper Dome sits above the Main Auditorium,

Views from the top

Looking down on St George Chapel