Taylor Square Substation No.6 and Underground Conveniences is a heritage-listed electrical substation and underground public toilets at the intersection of Taylor Square, Oxford, Forbes and Bourke Streets, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia.

[1] With its elevated position over the city, the Darlinghurst area has been called Woolloomooloo Heights, Eastern Hill and Henrietta Town.

[1] By the late 1830s Darlinghurst had become a densely populated residential suburb lined with rows of small terraces and grand houses.

Governor Brisbane had reserved 3.5 acres on Sydney's outskirts for a new gaol to replace the earlier lock-up in George Street.

In continuous operation from 1904 to 1993, the Substation building marks the commencement of the major technological transformation of the twentieth century associated with the development of the modern city and state.

[1] Together, the construction of these purpose-designed, high quality, Civic buildings within the public domain formed part of the introduction of the City Beautiful movement into Sydney that drove the complete remodelling of Oxford Street and associated creation of Taylor Square in 1907.

The public space, Civic buildings and streets were remodelled to provide for the introduction of the State's first electric tram and to improve city design and traffic movement throughout Victorian Sydney.

Access to an internal mezzanine platform is also available from the pavement level on the eastern side of the substation via a single leaf door.

To the north, the three separate openings, of similar arched shape, contain painted steel horizontal louvres behind fixed metal screens.

The ground floor is concrete with trenches running along the eastern, western and southern walls with metal cover plates.

[1] The Edwardian style Underground Men's Conveniences are characterised externally by a wrought iron fence and gates, with Art Nouveau detailing that are set on a painted sandstone base, and a central masonry podium (the air vent) located at the centre of the curved stairs, which originally supported a decorative metal vent capping.

[1] Internally, the main subterranean structure is enclosed in a brickwork cavity with a curved concrete ceiling supported by exposed steel beams.

The symmetrical plan of the underground conveniences is arranged around the circular core containing the pair of interlocking curved stairs and air vent, and comprises five toilet cubicles and two ceramic urinal stalls.

[1] Modern services, including fluorescent lights, electrical cabling and mechanical ventilation ducts have also been introduced to the internal space.

[1] The Substation were generally in good structural condition except for the two end gable parapets which have substantial cracking that requires attention.

They are of State heritage significance within the aesthetic, historic, associations, technical, social, representative and rarity criteria, as a group and individually.

[1] The Taylor Square group contains the oldest, surviving underground public toilet in Sydney (built in 1907), and the most intact of the first Electric Substations of New South Wales (built in 1904) that first brought sanitation reform and electricity to the public streets of Sydney City and New South Wales.

[1] Both buildings are fine examples of Edwardian Civic architecture, designed by the prominent City Surveyor and Architect, Robert Hargreave Brodrick, and are landmarks of Taylor Square.

[1] These Taylor Square buildings have provided the constant setting to developments of national significance in Australian society, as the symbolic birthplace and growth of gay pride activism in Australia since the first gay pride march commenced at Taylor Square in 1978, and as a continuing focus of the annual Mardi Gras, an internationally recognised event.

[1] Taylor Square Substation No.6 was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 July 2004 having satisfied the following criteria.

In continuous operation from 1904 to 1993, the building marks the commencement of the major technological transformation of the twentieth century associated with the development of the modern city and state.

This important association of the place with the gay and lesbian community has continued, as it remains a focus of the annual Mardi Gras, a highly popular and internationally recognised event.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

[1] The buildings are fine examples of Edwardian Civic architecture, with Interwar Art Deco overlays, both originally designed by the prominent City Surveyor and Architect, Robert Hargreave Brodrick.

Taylor Square provided the starting point of the first gay pride march in 1978, formed the focus of subsequent rallies, demonstrations and confrontations with Police, and continues to play an important role in the annual Mardi Gras, a highly popular and internationally recognised event.

[1] Evidence of the earlier salt water tanks that were originally located on the site above the substation are also retained, which provide information on the early techniques of street cleaning, sanitation and public health.

[1] As the oldest most-intact examples of their type, the buildings also demonstrate the major technological achievements and reforms of the early 20th Century in sanitation, public health and power supply that transformed Sydney into a modern City.

[1] The buildings are landmarks of the Taylor Square precinct that is and has been held in high esteem by the homosexual community since the 1960s, representing the centre of the recognised gay community since this time, representing the birthplace of gay pride activism in Australia in 1978, and the development of these origins into the internationally recognised and highly popular Mardi Gras.

[1] This Wikipedia article was originally based on Taylor Square Substation No.6 & Underground Public Conveniences, entry number 1700 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 14 October 2018.