Paddington Reservoir

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Description:

Beneath Oxford Street near Paddington markets, you'll find the renovated garden and ruins of an old reservoir that served Sydney well until it was finally decommissioned in 1899. It then became a garage and workshop for the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board, and later a service station, until it was acquired by the Paddington Municipal Council for much-needed open space. Then from 1934, the lower level was leased as a commercial garage. And that was how it stayed until 1991, when sections of the roof collapsed and the reserve was closed to the public.

The park on top of the reservoir was named as the Walter Read Reserve, after a former Mayor of Paddington, and the small park adjacent, the John Thompson Reserve, after the poet and journalist who was a founding member of the Paddington Society. Worth a look and take a camera!