Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/02/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Howard, Beautiful captures of wonderful architecture. Thanks for sharing. Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "H&ECummer" <cummer at netvigator.com> To: <lug at leica-users.org> Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 3:16 AM Subject: [Leica] Two Panos of the staircase of Elizabeth Bay House Sydney > Hi Luggers, > > We are in Sydney for the next few weeks and staying at a friend's house > on Elizabeth Bay. This morning we went to visit Elizabeth Bay House which > is just around the corner and spent a couple of hours with the well > informed docent. Here is some background from the guidebook of the house. > The Finest House in the Colony > > Conceived as "the finest house in the colony" Elizabeth Bay House was > built for New South Wales' senior civil servant, Alexander Macleay. > Macleay's appointment as Colonial Secretary reflected the expansion of > the colony's administration during the 1820s, which gave rise to a > colonial middle class. Elizabeth Bay House, similarly, reflected the rise > (both in Britain and the colonies) of the detached villa set within > several acres of landscaped garden as the ideal form of middle- class > housing. The house was associated with a series of Greek Revival villas > built for the heads of the departments of the colony's civil service, on > the adjacent Woolloomooloo Hill. The builder and architect, John Verge, > was responsible for many of the Woolloomooloo Hill villas, although the > extent to which he may be regarded as the designer of Elizabeth Bay House > is unclear. > > Macleay appears to have had plans for the house by 1832, although its > commencement was to be delayed until 1835. The house was not made > habitable until 1839, possibly as a result of Macleay's loss of his post > in 1837. At the time of its conception Elizabeth Bay House was by far > superior to the house occupied by the governor but it was to be eclipsed > by the new Government House completed in 1845. As with many of Verge's > commissions, its construction was curtailed as a result of the looming > financial crisis of the early 1840s, which devastated early colonial > society. > > The Villa Plan > Its rooms are arranged around a central stair hall, connecting with it > and with each other. The principal rooms, located on the ground floor and > the French windows of its three principal elevations, emphasize the > house's relationship with its garden. > > The villa form allowed architectural experimentation with shaped interior > spaces. Elizabeth Bay House's cubic entrance hall leads to an elliptical, > domed, top-lit saloon containing the stair. > > Here are two vertical 4 panel panorama views taken from opposite sides of > the staircase with the GF 1 and the 20mm f1.7. > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Australia2010/ElizBayVertStair4PanW.jpg.html > > http://tinyurl.com/yj7ytjd > > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Australia2010/LizBayStair4Pan130210W.jpg.html > > http://tinyurl.com/yk2mhrx > > Please enjoy > > C&C welcome as always. > > Cheers > > Howard (in extremely wet Sydney) > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >