| Grace Building | |
|---|---|
,_Sydney.jpg) The exterior of the Grace Building, from York Street | |
  Grace Building | |
| Etymology | Grace Bros |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Skyscraper |
| Architectural style | Federation Skyscraper Gothic |
| Location | 77–79 York Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Current tenants | Hotel, Café, Restaurant, Bar |
| Construction started | 1928 |
| Completed | 1930 |
| Owner | Linkbond (Asia) Ltd |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Morrow and Gordon |
| Official name | Grace Building |
| Type | State heritage (built) |
| Criteria | a., c., e. |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Reference no. | 712 |
| Type | Commercial Office/Building |
| Category | Commercial |
The Grace Building is a heritage-listed building of the Federation Skyscraper Gothic style that houses a bar, hotel, cafe and restaurant and is located at 77–79 York Street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia.
Designed by Morrow and Gordon[1] and built by Kell & Rigby[2] during the late 1920s, it was opened in 1930 by Grace Bros, the Australian department store magnates, as their headquarters. "The building was designed to use the first two storeys in the manner of a department store. The remaining storeys were intended to provide rental office accommodation for importers and other firms engaged in the softgoods trade".[3] Inspired by the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower in Chicago—headquarters of the Chicago Tribune[4]—the building was of the Art Deco architectural style and had state-of-the-art innovations and facilities for the time.
The Grace Building has served various purposes since its opening; it was sublet to the Australian Commonwealth government in the early 1940s and later became the Sydney headquarters of the U.S. armed forces under General Douglas MacArthur during the Pacific War. After World War II, it continued to be used for government administration purposes[1] and was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth in November 1945.[3]
Extensive renovation and restoration during the 1990s resulted in the return of many of the building's original features, including light fittings, lifts, stairwells, high pressed-metal ceilings, marble floors, wide hallways, and elegant decorative ironwork. The Grace Building was listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate in 1980[5] and placed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[3] The building was purchased for redevelopment in 1995 by the Low Yat Group of Malaysia.[6] Since June 1997, it has operated as a luxury hotel known as "the Grace Sydney".
- ^ a b "Grace Building". State Library of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- ^ "Gentleman of the building trade: Obituary, Alan Kell, 1920-2008". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 September 2008.
- ^ a b c "Grace Building". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00712. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
- ^ "Manuscripts, oral history and pictures". Catalogue entry. State Library of New South Wales.
- ^ "Grace Building, 77-79 York St, Sydney, NSW, Australia (Place ID 2226)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Chronology of the Grace Building". Teaching Heritage. Government of New South Wales.
