The QVB is a “thing” in Sydney’s CBD…that is, the Queen Victoria Building in the Central Business District. The building opened in July 1898 as a shopping center, constructed in Romanesque Revival style and owned by the City. It is 98 feet wide by 320 feet long, is four stories high, and takes up an entire city block. Since its opening, the building has been renovated four times, and at one time was up for demolition, as it had fallen into disuse and disrepair. But it looks fabulous today, very festive, old-yet-modern, and was jammed with shoppers.
The first two photos are from one of the many, many sweet shops. It seems that there must be 50 pastries for sale for each child, woman, and man walking through the building. The next two photos are from the Coach store, selling purses on the arms of dancing bears and celebratory frogs. We loved the mannequin in the green and black ensemble with black and white sneakers!
As you can see, there was live Christmas music throughout the day, along with the Dancing Bellwoman and Bellman. They did quite a fabulous job of jitterbugging. Can you believe a (very) small slice of watermelon goes for $3.50 just because it is dipped in a little chocolate? And how weird is it to have melon dipped in chocolate? It seems too watery. Following are random photos of the building….the fabulous dome, giant 3-story Christmas tree, the authentic stained glass windows, and a very tall and winding spiral staircase. You can also see the dessert cases, jammed with cakes, cookies, and pastries. The final photo is a sign near the building on a one-way street….it made us laugh.
