The Forbes Hotel, 1836

On the Corner of York and King Streets, Sydney

Three sides of an old building facing a street corner. We are looking at the building’s front door, on a very narrow side facing the corner. The two street frontages angle away to either side. The building’s exterior at ground level is grey, with a line of black tiles near the ground and layers of decorative stone work at the top. The narrow front facing us contains a pair of narrow, black-painted timber doors, each containing two four-paned windows and a timber panel below them. Above the doors is a closed black rectangle with black bars, which may once have been a window. This design of door is repeated multiple times along the two street frontages. At ground level the building is scrawled with graffiti. On either side of the front door is a tall, narrow brass plate with the hotel logo - a letter F incorporating the arms and torso of a waiter in formal dress - and the words Forbes Hotel 1836. Topping each brass plate is a decorative black lantern on a metal bracket. Above these is a small half-circle balcony with a rounded sandstone base and black, wrought iron railings. Beyond the balcony is a door with nine glass panels. The first floor of the building is made of bricks, and each of the street frontages has a square sign with the hotel name and logo.