Taylor Square is a public square in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, at the intersection of Bourke, Forbes,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and Flinders Streets. Taylor Square is also on the border of the suburbs of

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

and

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

Description

Taylor Square sits at the intersection of Bourke, Forbes,

and Flinders streets above the

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

section of the

Eastern Distributor The Eastern Distributor is a motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1 and the Sydney Orbital Network, the motorway links the Sydney central business district with the south-east and Sydney Airport. The Eastern Distribut ...

. The square is named after Sir Allen Taylor (1864–1940), a timber merchant, ship builder and

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...

who was responsible for the widening of Oxford Street during his tenure. The area formerly bound by the traffic of the three streets is popularly known as "Gilligan's Island" because of three large palm trees that once occupied the strip, but have since been subsequently removed. The opening of the Eastern Distributor in December 1999 also entailed the realignment of traffic flow in the area. Direct vehicle access across Oxford Street via Bourke Street is no longer possible. The locality is a centre of the city's nightlife, especially for its

LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

. Two permanent tributes are the large rainbow flag and rainbow crossing, built in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

Darlinghurst Courthouse The Darlinghurst Courthouse is a heritage register, heritage-listed courthouse building located adjacent to Taylor Square, Sydney, Taylor Square on Oxford Street, Sydney, Oxford Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst, New South Wa ...

is an imposing sandstone building on Taylor Square. It was designed by architect

Mortimer Lewis Mortimer William Lewis (1796 – 9 March 1879) was an English-born architect, surveyor and public servant who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the colony of New South Wales (now a state of Australia) from 1835 to 1849. Le ...

(1796–1879) in 1844 and has a Greek Revival style façade. The central block is adapted from an 1823 design in Peter Nicholson's The New Practical Builder. The square also features a large water fountain built into the pavement. This was part of a $5.25 million upgrade, in 2003, including lighting and a grass terrace. The fountain is currently being reviewed for upgrade and repair by the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...

Council.

History

Taylor Square was the site of the public execution of John Knatchbull for murder in 1844, with a crowd of 10,000 people reportedly in attendance.

References

Sydney localities Streets in Sydney Gay villages in Australia LGBTQ culture in Sydney Darlinghurst, New South Wales Squares in Sydney {{Sydney-geo-stub

Description

History

See also

References