Palace Garden Gate

The Palace Garden Gate is the only surviving architectural relic of the Garden Palace, a large exhibition hall built in 1879 for the Sydney International Exhibition. Designed by James Barnet and built by John Young, the building was an adaptation of London's Crystal Palace and featured a cathedral-like structure with a central dome. After the exhibition, it housed the Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum, now the Powerhouse Museum. On September 22, 1882, the timber structure burned to the ground, destroying numerous historic documents and Aboriginal artifacts. Today, the carved sandstone pillars and wrought-iron gates stand at the Macquarie Street entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens. They mark the southwestern part of the grounds, where the hall once stood. On the site of the former dome, you'll now find a sunken garden with a fountain and a Cupid statue from the 1940s, which recalls the historical significance of the place.