Circular Quay

Waterfront near Sydney Opera House and city centre
Sydney, Australia

Contributed by Project for Public Spaces

In many ways, Circular Quay is the "heart of Sydney," and its success is due to the essential role it plays in the city's daily life.

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Why It Works

One end of the Quay connects to Jorn Utzon's famed Sydney Opera House, and the other with The Rocks, an area that constitutes Sydney's historic "original village." Ferries, subways, trains and buses arrive and depart from the Quay, making it a transportation hub for commuters, tourists and others. It also serves as a pedestrian connection among some major tourist attractions, and has services along its length oriented both to tourists as well as locals: fresh produce stands and food shops selling fish, bread, meats, and wines, etc.

The Quay's appeal for locals is its function as the essential transit center for the central business district. A majority of downtown commuters live across Sydney Bay and use ferries to travel to work. With its aesthetic, practical and efficient qualities, the Quay functions as an effective transition space between the docks and the downtown.

Both locals and tourists alike delight in the comfortable and well-maintained space that the Quay provides. Small cafes and restaurants serve light lunches to office workers, who also make use of the benches and walls situated along the Quay. Tourists and families are attracted by the buskers, spectacular views, and details such as the Writers' Walk - a pathway from the Quay to the Opera House tiled with plaques commemorating Australian writers (including Peter Carey, Miles Franklin, and Germaine Greer) and those who focused on Australia (Charles Darwin, Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain).

History & Background

Sydney, a city graced with copious sunshine and sheltered from the wind by protecting ridges, has grown up around its waterfront; indeed the waterfront is a national focal point. Circular Quay gradually built up at the side of Sydney Cove, the 1788 landing-place of the British convict ships which brought Sydney's original citizens. Circular Quay is the "hard edge" along the water - essentially, it is a public space connecting transit, pedestrian and civic elements. Framing the Quay are Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, among the most popular and internationally known images of the city and the country. The Quay is a perennial site for civic celebrations; in 1994, for example, crowds gathered there to celebrate the awarding of the 2000 Olympics to Sydney. http://www.sydney.com.au/quay.htm

User Comments:

> Add your own comment about Circular Quay

09/04/02 xavier valls said:: Tot el conjunt fins el Jardí Botànic ès de lo millor que he vist.
11/24/03 Chris Wood said:: But what a shame about the elevated railway and freeway structure that backs Circular Quay and divorces it from the downtown area. All the pictures you see of Circular Quay are taken to avoid showing this hideous structure (indeed many, like the lead photo on this site, are taken from it). Now that there is the harbor tunnel, the freeway could be demolished.
11/29/04 scot mcphee said:: Personally, as a local, I find the Quay itself to be a horrific, overpriced, windswept mess. At either end, from the MCA and The Rocks on the western side to the colonnaded walk and the Opera House on the eastern, there are two excellent city spaces but the connecting area, the Quay proper, is a terrible space to either transit or linger in.

And 'Sydney Bay'? Although technically known as Port Jackson it is popularly referred to as 'Sydney Harbour' (or just the Harbour) - which in itself contains bays (Woolloomooloo Bay, Double Bay, Rose Bay, Watsons Bay etc). The body of water that Circular Quay is situated in is called Sydney Cove.
01/12/05 Joseph Kaiser said:: As visiting yanks, we look forward to visiting Circular Quay on each time we are in Sydney. Circular Quay to us is the wonderful and exciting part of Sydney.
07/18/07 Rhodella Ibabao said:: We do not have such place in our country so experiencing Circular Quay makes us dream of one day turning our local places with similar characteristics as the Quay look like one.