The Streets of Newtown

In Sydney for a media conference three weeks ago, I spent an afternoon walking along King Street in the inner suburb of Newtown. Although this once industrial suburb has been gentrified in recent years, there's still a dash of grunge that keeps it interesting. Fancy joining me for a pictorial stroll?

1. This is the interior of Luxe Bakery (just off King Street at 195 Missenden Road), which was recommended to me as a good new Newtown cafe. It was indeed a great place, with a cool industrial look, good food and a lively crowd. 

2. There are some great facades along King Street. I particularly liked this duo, with its contrasts of eras and colours:

3. A bit further along, these businesses' names (especially Dirty Girl Hair and Moo Gourmet Burgers) presented an amusing contrast with the old-fashioned facades above:

4. Speaking of business names, this one also caught my eye. No idea whether it's based on two exotic ethnic surnames, or is just owned by a guy called Noonan...

5. Here's the Old Fish Shop Cafe (at 239a King Street), a hold-out from King Street's edgier days...

6. I liked the retro look of this sign outside the Newtown Mission Chapel:

7. This building on a triangular plot of land resembles the prow of a ship. I love odd accidental buildings like this, they remind us that roads are artificial lines drawn by humans in the first place...

8. An intriguing statue near the Newtown Town Hall:

9. Finally, in the more upmarket southern end of King Street, I passed this boutique selling arty gifts from Latin America. Personally I think this layout would make a great set-up for an Agatha Christie novel, or maybe an international version of Cluedo: "Mr Panama was killed in the chess room with a strange ceramic animal"...