If you walk Castlereagh Street near Hyde Park and clock the Federation warehouse with the brick pilasters and that bronze-glazed front, you are looking at the Vickery Building — not a purpose-built church. Boot manufacturer Joseph Vickery & Co put it up in 1908 (architect Alfred Newman, Federation Free Classical). The Sydney Morning Herald of the day reckoned it would “considerably improve this portion of the city,” which tells you how industrial-commercial this stretch still felt.
The Church of Scientology bought the property in 1979, after which municipal inventories often listed it as Scientology House. A major heritage refurbishment and vertical expansion, finished 2014 for the Sydney Ideal Organisation, restored façade elements and added upper storeys. Whatever the present use, the fabric story is a 1908 commercial warehouse adapted and enlarged under later heritage controls.
Photographs here show the Castlereagh Street elevations and commemorative signage associated with the site.
The building at 201 Castlereagh Street, long known in city records as Scientology House, began life in 1908 as the Vickery Building for boot manufacturer Joseph Vickery & Co. Contemporary press praised the Federation Free Classical warehouse as an improvement to this industrial-commercial stretch of the city. Brick pilasters and a distinctive glazed façade still mark it as an early twentieth-century Castlereagh Street landmark.
The Church of Scientology acquired the property in 1979, after which municipal heritage inventories commonly listed it as Scientology House. A major heritage refurbishment and vertical expansion (completed 2014) restored historic façade elements and added upper storeys when the premises were fitted out as the Sydney Ideal Organisation. Whatever the present religious use, the fabric story is that of a 1908 commercial warehouse adapted and enlarged under later heritage controls.
Photographs here show the Castlereagh Street elevations and commemorative signage associated with the site.
