Darlinghurst Blog: Detritus: Instagram Autumn 2012

Thursday March 1 - Waiting at Poos on Sticks

This is a blog post dedicated to all the lovely readers who once called Darlinghurst home, but now live in far-flung places and still yearn for the lights, sights and smells of the 2010 and 2011 postcodes. 

I know you enjoy seeing pictures of your old neighbourhood and I've been taking plenty of them through the Instagram application, but unfortunately it's quite elitist and only available to people with smart-phones.

The good thing about Instagram is that it takes pictures in the Hasselblad-style square format, so even if they are crap, they look slightly professional.

Here is a collection of my autumn ramblings through the neighbourhood. 

 Thursday March 1 - The Coca-Cola sign from the Kings Cross Hotel

Thursday March 1 - Kings Cross Hotel, level one veranda 

Thursday March 1 - Shady Pines Saloon bar, Foley Street 

Thursday March 1 - Street art, Foley Street 

Saturday March 3 - Night out in a phone booth, Kings Cross Road.

I know exactly who left behind this liquor stash, because I see him nearly everyday with the same condiments. He looks a bit like Ernest Hemingway, so that's what I call him. 

I fear he'll come to an equally tragic end as his namesake because he also has a chronic alcohol problem. I often see him passed out on the footpath. What to do?

 Wednesday March 7 - Street art, Foley Street

Thursday March 8 - Full moon from my kitchen window 

Thursday March 15 - Early morning Cafe Hernandez, Kings Cross Road

 Sunday March 18 - Street art ant, Crown Street, Woolloomooloo

Sunday March 18 - Veranda security, Crown Street, Woolloomooloo 

Sunday March 18 - Ruby's kitchen wall, Darlinghurst 

Sunday March 18 - Street art, Llankelly Place, Kings Cross 

Thursday March 29 - Sunrise study from the Rushcutters Bay footbridge 

Saturday March 31 - What Bird is That? mural, Nickson Street, Surry Hills 

 Monday April 2 - Brand new wands for the El Alamein Fountain, Kings Cross

 Tuesday April 3 - Lucky 13 door and Tim Storrier burning log print at Darlinghurst Medical Centre, Victoria Street

 Thursday April 5 - Dawn at Barnett Lane, East Sydney

 Thursday April 5 - Beautiful and practical signage, Barnett Lane, East Sydney

 Friday April 6 - Dog in a window, King Street Gallery on William

 Saturday April 7 - Deals in the sky from my bathroom window

 Monday April 9 - I Saw, Kirketon Road, Darlinghurst

Tuesday April 10 - One of my favourite buildings at dusk, corner of Forbes and Burton streets

 Thursday April 12 - Leaning bollard at Chard Steps, William Street

 Saturday April 14 - Autumn clouds

 Saturday April 14 - Artist Rod McRae's vicious fawn, King Street Gallery on William

 Saturday April 14 - Saturday night, Kings Cross

Sunday April 15 - Visit from Ralf, the neighbourhood cat

Sunday April 15 - Marvellous red flowering 38-year-old clerodendrum splendens at Robert's house on Caldwell Street

 Wednesday April 18 - Caitlin Shearer's Cat Lady watercolour at World Bar, Bayswater Road, Kings Cross

 Wednesday April 18 - Couple in the rain, Victoria Street

 

Saturday April 21 - The Darlinghurst Road strip was closed for a police investigation after a group of teenagers allegedly stole a car and mounted the footpath at 3am. 

The police gave chase and shot and injured two of the teenagers. 

After the police tape was pulled down, I walked along the strip and it was incredible. 

The council cleaners had not yet arrived and there was rubbish, vomit and piss everywhere. 

There was also a large patch of thick sticky blood, which I nearly trod in.

Tuesday May 1 - Fliers saying, "Is this your cat?" were plastered all over the neighbourhood. They have since been removed, so presumably the ownership of the cat has been settled.

Monday May 16 - Darlinghurst Road street art. This woman, who also appears in Llankelly Place, has replaced the dalmatian artwork on the wall of the Darlo Bar. Yesterday when I went by, tourists were photographing themselves next to it. Cute.

 Tuesday May 17 - Dawn moon, the no man's land end of Ward Avenue 

 Tuesday 24 May - Ramp at dawn, the no-man's land end of Ward Avenue

Tuesday 24 May - Morning cloud from the Rushcutters Bay footbridge

Darlinghurst Blog: Art and Culture: Stables Theatre

It's Tuesday night, a month out from winter and darkness falls quickly on Darlinghurst, bringing with it a biting cold air.

My feet move fast as I walk through the night, hands dug into pockets, head wrapped in the warmth of a woollen hat, I turn the corner into Nimrod Street and just 112 steps from my home (I counted them), I arrive at the door of the Stables Theatre.

This is what I love about living in Darlinghurst: 112 steps to a theatre, 153 to a bottle shop and a neat 200 to the closest pub.

Even so, there are very few people or events that could lure me into a theatre or a cinema, as I simply can't sit still for prolonged periods of time.

Tim Rogers, acting in a show, 112 steps from home, is one of them.

It was my gal-pal Ruby Molteno's plan to go to the theatre, really. 

I can't take credit for such grand plans. The only plans I was thinking, was that it was so close to home, I could surely wear my pyjamas. 

But I dressed like a normal person. 

We bought a glass of wine each from the bar and then stood near the door sipping from our drinks while I quickly read up on what the play was all about.

I had to be careful not to cross this yellow dotted line at the theatre's doorway - or face the wrath of liquor licensing laws - as I read through the theatre flier for The Story of Mary MacLane By Herself, starring Bojana Novakovic and Mr Rogers:

"Promiscuous prophet or philandering fool? Mary MacLane is a woman you’d be mad not to meet.

"More than 100 years ago, The Story of Mary MacLane set America aflame. 

"A shocking confessional from a 19-year-old girl who refused to succumb to the corset-bound prudery of her age, Mary’s scandalous memoir broke all the rules – and sold over 100,000 copies.

"Today, Ride On Theatre’s Bojana Novakovic and Tanya Goldberg bring Mary’s writings to the stage in a bold and magical ‘monologue for two’ backed with original music composed and performed by You Am I frontman Tim Rogers.

"The Story of Mary MacLane by Herself will whirl you through a kaleidoscopic tale of the greatest genius you’ve never heard of, defy you to look deep within and dare you to dance with the devil.

"WARNINGS: This production contains the use of a hazer and a herbal cigarette."

I liked the sound of Mary MacLane.

Any woman who writes scandalous memoirs has always appealed to me.

Just before 7pm, the woman who was working the bar stood up on a chair, invited everyone into the theatre and there was a rush for the entrance as all tickets are general admission: first in, best seated.

Ruby and I found a seat about three rows back from the stage. 

Even if you find yourself in the back row, it doesn't matter: the theatre seats just over 100 people, making for an intimate theatre experience.

There was a lot of noise as people found seats and then the music - two minstrels playing a double bass and a violin - started up and Tim Rogers and Bojana Novakovic appeared.

I don't have any pictures of anyone as there is no photography allowed.

Novakovic, dressed in cream silk pantaloons and camisole, was Mary MacLane who, I discovered, was a Victorian-era Anais Nin or Djuna Barnes with a fixation on the devil.

She reminded me very much of my teenage self, without the satanic obsession, and as such was quite an indulgent, immature character; slightly irritating.

Rogers was the star for Ruby and I, as he swaggered about on stage in a large top hat and waistcoat - a 19th-century vaudevillian-style showman, whose musical interludes kept the pace of the show moving.
After it was over, the audience clapped, the performers bowed, and I walked the 112 steps to home.

*

The Story of Mary MacLane By Herself

Until 12 May

SBW Stables Theatre

10 Nimrod Street

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

02 9361 3817

www.griffintheatre.com.au

*

I would have loved to have written about the history of this old building, which was presumably a stables many years ago, but could find absolutely nothing during my armchair research.

If you know any interesting historical facts about the building, please let me know.

Across the Border: Potts Point: Reader Story: Apartment Buildings: Byron Hall

This is a history of Byron Hall written by someone who lives in the building - what could be better than that? 

I enjoy writing about all the excellent early 20th-century buildings, and 19th-century buildings in our area, but it's so much better when it comes from someone who lives in it and loves it. 

Here is Ms X's journey through Byron Hall on Macleay Street - a building that is unmissable if you are into that kind of thing. 

Internal and fireworks pix by Ms X; externals by me.

2011 Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks display from the roof of Byron Hall.

"Given the new year has well past, it's about time I delivered on a promise to a woman I have never met.
"My Darling Darlinghurst is a favourite blog of mine.
"I love hearing stories from 2011 and share the author's fascination with the strange timetable the 311 bus keeps.
"A while back I happened to see that Violet had created a hand-coloured zine and was sharing them with her fans/readers.
"I was quite the excited one on the interwebs, and a quick email secured a copy.
"Shortly thereafter Violet fed it under the front door of my apartment building.
"In return for that kind gesture, I’m introducing her and you to the insides of my home at Byron Hall.

"Byron Hall sits at 97-99 Macleay Street and was designed by Claud Hamilton.
"Hamilton was a fairly prolific architect in the area, and also designed other apartment blocks like The Savoy (1919) and Regent’s Court (1925).
"He and the construction workers of Sydney finished Byron Hall in 1929, the year of the stock market crash and the start of the Great Depression.
"Byron Hall is a mix of styles: many aspects are art deco, some a little Georgian (like the windows), and others classical (such as the pediments).
"Until the 1950s the building was a series of serviced apartments.
"Maids lived on the top level and the caretaker in a small flat on the ground floor.

"The foyer is the grandest part of the building, and the caretaker’s office is usually occupied in the early part of the day by one of the longest-term residents who is now in her 90s.
"She arranges the more basic repairs and trouble shoots any issues, but more than that she is a pretty impressive collective memory of the old building. 

"Just outside the office are the original and still-used letterboxes, so tiny and made for an era when post-delivered objects had a smaller and more uniform size I expect. 

"Anything that does not fit has to sit on top in piles, each resident sorting through the pile. 

"It is terribly inefficient, but a reminder that it really is OK to spend a minute or two extra in the foyer collecting mail and chatting to neighbours. 

"There are two lifts, with wonderfully un-automated doors, which tend to inspire two types of reactions. 

"On the one hand there are the friends who squeal with glee (squee!) at things so well aged and beautiful. 

"On the other, those who cannot be convinced that the lifts, despite recent and full refurbishment, are safe. 

"The basement and an area on the top floor are the two other common spaces.
"The company (the building is company title) still own the flat the maids previously resided in, and you can access a small balcony and a meeting room.
"The view from the balcony is beautiful — straight across The Domain to the city and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
"The meeting room contains the original name board from the foyer, listing some of the first residents against their flat number.

"The basement has a communal laundry and the boiler room. 

"While not quite out of Nightmare on Elm Street, it is a little dark and spooky. 

"The basement also houses the building’s bike racks and ‘The Shed’: a giant old wooden workbench where you can repair things, sand things, paint things and generally make a mess.

"One thing you are always conscious of living in Byron Hall, is how lucky you are. 

"Lucky because the building is wonderful, but also because 2011 is home to a great many people who are without homes. 

"For that reason I'm a Friend of the Wayside Chapel, who live next door to us at Byron Hall. 

"They are often a friend to those who are in need, so perhaps you might think about become friends with them as well?

"The sun is pretty low in the sky as I finish writing this, streaming in to our lounge room and demanding I get organised for dinner. 

"So goodnight from Byron Hall."