Petersham Town Hall
The Petersham Town Hall is a heritage-listed town hall located at 107 Crystal Street in Petersham, a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia. It was built in 1937–38 in the Inter-War Stripped Classical architectural style by architects Rudder & Grout, and replaced the first Petersham Town Hall on the site, which was designed in the Victorian Renaissance Revival style by Thomas Rowe in 1880–1882. The Town Hall was the seat of Petersham Municipal Council from 1938 to 1948 and from 1948 to 1974 was the seat of the Municipality of Marrickville, which absorbed Petersham. When the council moved to new offices across the street in 1974, the town hall has primarily been used as a meeting hall, community centre, filming location and archival office.
First Town Hall, 1880–1937
The foundation stone for the town hall was laid by mayor M. McMahon on 18 December 1880, with W. H. Pigott MLA opening proceedings. The Italianate structure was designed by Thomas Rowe, and the completed building was officially opened by the mayor, John Gelding, on 19 April 1882. The building, of brick on stone foundations, was completed in eighteen months, and included a library, masonic meeting room, caretaker's residence and on the upper floor a hall capable of seating 700 people, with a large stage and various ante-rooms, approached by three staircases. Its cost was estimated at £4000. The hall was demolished in 1937 as a cheaper alternative to remodelling.The hall is of interest to aficionados of Gilbert and Sullivan, as the site of Australia's first production of Ruddigore, by the Petersham Choral Society, on 4–7 August 1908. It was not until 23 June 1927 that it was staged professionally, at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide by James Hay for J. C. Williamson's.