[1] In the years since its founding in 1788, Sydney had developed organically, and by the early 1800s was lacking in major public buildings, and had a complex network of narrow streets.

With Circular Quay as the focus of this new civic scheme, Macquarie Street marked its eastern boundary and was designed as a ceremonial thoroughfare.

[2] The public buildings distributed either side of the street would both delineate and connect the civil and commercial town centre to its west with the green spaces (now the Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens) to the east.

Among the public buildings commissioned by Macquarie, Hyde Park Barracks and St James' Church are two examples largely preserved from that era.

However, the hospital's capacity exceeded the needs of Sydney at the time, and almost from the start space in its two wing buildings began to be occupied by various government institutions.

At the same time, as an elegant tree-lined boulevarde adjacent both to the commercial city centre and the green spaces of the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Domain, the street became Sydney's most pre-eminent residential address.

[4] In particular, the close proximity to Sydney Hospital and court buildings attracted leading barristers and doctors to set up chambers and surgeries along the street.

[5] The Garden Palace, a grand building constructed for the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879, was located on Macquarie Street, but was destroyed by fire only a few years later.

To the east of this northern section is the Royal Botanic Gardens, while to the west of the street, the historic sandstone Moore Stairs, built in 1868 leads to the waterfront.

The warehouses and wharf facilities near the Opera House were progressively removed in the mid-20th century and replaced by modernist office blocks.

The complex includes private apartments, retail outlets, restaurants, the Pullman Quay Grand Hotel and a cinema.