City
As the earliest major development in Civic, the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings (below) continue to be landmarks in the City. There are eight Canberra Tracks signs at each inside corner of the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings. The stories and photos on these panels reveal details on their design and construction, its official opening in 1927 by Prime Minister Bruce, the early businesses, the days of prohibition, the first bus routes (just two) and the courtyards. The longest standing lessee in either building was the Commonwealth Bank.
Located in Ainslie Place between London Circuit and the Canberra Times Fountain outside the Canberra Centre is the ACT Honour Walk. Every two years additional plaques are added and the people or organisations that have made significant and sustained past contributions to the ACT are recognised (below). A list of recipients of the ACT Honour Walk dates from 2005 and acknowledges people from many different fields of expertise who have made significant and sustained contributions to the ACT. Past recipients have been artists, architects, sportspeople, scientists, businesspeople and community leaders.
At the intersection of Petrie Plaza and City Walk is the 1915 heritage-listed Merry-go-round (below), which was bought for Canberra in 1973 for $40,000. It opened for business on Canberra Day 1974. The name of each horse is painted on the horse's neck and at the rear of each saddle is a carved and painted gargoyle-type head. Three of the horses however, were never named. The 52 colourful hand carved wooden horses have horsehair tails, leather reins and stirrup straps, and stainless-steel stirrup irons. There are also two elephant carriages that you can enjoy!
The City also contains a number of mid-century architectural gems. The Former MLC Building (below) on London Circuit was the skyscraper for Canberra in the 1960s and showed confidence in the capital by attracting major private investment. This tall sleek metal and glass structure symbolised progress and modernity after World War II. The building was initially four storeys before extra floors were added in 1963.
Bunda Street's Cinema Center (below) was designed by renowned architect Dr Enrico Taglietti. It was innovative in its engineering and construction resulting in a multistorey housing a cinema, shops, restaurant, art gallery and offices when it opened in 1965. To incorporate many functions in the one building at that time was very new. With the cinema in its basement, the excavation for the Cinema Center complex was the deepest in Canberra for the time.