Heritage Listing Sought for Oxford Street Icons
Three historic venues along Oxford Street are proposed for heritage listing following a study to identify important places for LGBTIQA+ communities.
The City of Sydney is proposing to list 134 Oxford Street, better known as the Oxford Hotel, Palms at 124 Oxford Street, and the Universal nightclub, formerly known as the Midnight Shift, at 85–91 Oxford Street.
Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said these venues were an iconic part of the social and physical fabric of Oxford Street.
“We know how important it is to our LGBTIQA+ communities to protect, preserve and recognise the rich cultural history along Oxford Street,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Each of these venues has been strongly associated with the community since the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“It’s wonderful to be able to recognise and share the important role they have played in the lives of our diverse LGBTIQA+ communities for more than 40 years.”
They add to the many other sites already recognised for their significance, including the Darlinghurst Police Station, Stonewall Hotel and even the Mardi Gras parade route.
Oxford Hotel, 134 Oxford Street
The site has been associated with Sydney’s liquor trade since the 1850s. Its earliest iteration as a pub was ‘The Cottage of Content’, which was built on or near the site in 1859.
The building shows the influence of Federation Free Style with Classical details. It traded as the Johnston’s family, Ryan’s and Midland hotel before becoming the Oxford Hotel in 1905.
During the 1970s it was associated with Sydney’s rock scene before officially opening as a gay venue on 16 July 1982, when it was promoted as ‘the latest gay pub on the Strip, restaurant, the Oxford Café upstairs’.
It is one of the oldest continually operating LGBTIQA+ venues and was the location for significant community events. These included the first Bobby Goldsmith Foundation annual fundraiser, the ‘Boys Own Bake-off’, which was held in the hotel for several years. The foundation is Australia’s longest running HIV charity.
Palms, 124 Oxford Street
The site has been occupied by commercial buildings since 1855. From 1914 until around 1916, the Catholic Women’s Association occupied rooms within the building, and from there several different businesses occupied the site.
In 1964 the basement of the building was declared a public hall and earned the moniker ‘Beatle Village’ after the first ever meeting of the Australian Beatle Fan Club – a reference to the British pop band ‘The Beatles’.
The gay venue of Palms opened around 1977 and was an underground cabaret venue which hosted the popular ‘Cabaret Conspiracy’. The venue became known as a safe and supportive environment for those rejecting the gender and sexual norms of the period.
It traded as Scooters Bar and Diner during the late 1980s before reopening as Palms in 2000. It aimed to be inclusive and welcoming to women as well as gay men.
Universal, formerly Midnight Shift, 85–91 Oxford Street
The two-storey commercial building was designed in the Inter War Free Classical style popular in the 1920s.
Between 1970 and 1978 the first floor of 85–91 Oxford Street was occupied by a restaurant called Amado’s Spanish Fiesta.
Tropicana opened at 85 Oxford Street in August 1978. It was a licensed restaurant and gay disco catering to a young crowd. Two years later, it reopened as Club 85, advertising itself as a ‘man’s disco’ but was damaged by fire just a few months later.
It reopened in November 1980 as the Midnight Shift, and was advertised as a ‘disco for guys’. In 1986 it was granted a liquor licence and the venue continued operating until October 2017, when it closed as a result of declining trade associated with the lockout laws.
In July 2018 the establishment was purchased by Universal Hotels and the nightclub reopened as Universal in September of that year.
Council unanimously endorsed the proposal at its final meeting of the year, Monday 16 December. The heritage listing for the 3 buildings will go to the NSW Government for review. Once approved, the proposal will be open for public feedback.
Council further requested the City investigate the possibility of also heritage listing 273 Crown Street, Surry Hills (designed in the 1920s and opened as Ruby Reds in 1979, considered Sydney’s first lesbian bar); 40-42 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst (known as the Taxi Club, a popular late night venue from the mid-1950s) and 207 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst (opened as a bookshop for LGBTIQA+ communities in the 1980s, which still operates today).