Lost Gems: Historical inner west buildings now in ruins, converted

Once the toast of the country, these historical reminder’s of Sydney’s past have been left to ruin, overrun by squatters or been turned into plush new apartments.

When you tear down buildings in the inner west it’s not just memories and the history of Sydney you’re losing, it’s the history of Australia.

They used to be our homes, our places of work and the beacons of our community but today they are either a gleaming representation of the new inner west or a derelict ghost town.

White Bay power station

A reminder of Balmain’s working class roots and of a future in limbo.

The two iconic towers have sat empty as the state government and other authorities dwindle on what to do with White Bay power station in Rozelle.

Operational since 1917 its not unclear what will happen to what was once Sydney’s longest running metropolitan power stations after it was decommissioned in 1983.

Jan Sargent has lived in Rozelle since 1974 and would like to see the White Bay Power Station stay. Picture: Jonathan Ng

It was heritage listed in 1999 and recently there has been talk of turning the precinct into a hub of residential development and tech hub.

Three times the size of Barangaroo, the possibilities for the site in recent years have been flagged by the likes of Google.

Balmain Leagues Club

Once billed as the spiritual home of rugby in Sydney, the current state of the iconic Balmain Leagues Club leaves a lot to be desired.

The derelict, graffiti-ridden dump which used to be the heart of the community somewhat reflects what happened to one of the great clubs in the city.

The state of the leagues club after it was left vacant. Picture: John Appleyard

Artist's impression for the new Balmain Leagues Club

Wests legend Robbie Farah once described the party at the Leagues Club after the 2005 grand final win as one of the most memorable nights of his life.

Its fortunes may have faltered in recent years but there is hope on the horizon.

Huge plans are currently in motion to return it to its former glory, or even better, but with the State Government set to acquire the land as part of the Western Harbour Tunnel project even that now seems like a pipe dream.

The site with such rich history could remain the wasteland it has grown into over the last decade as the fight over whether the government permanently takes the land for the project, or leases it to complete the works and hand it back, are still raging on.

Colgate Factory

The factory then, in the 1930s …

And the factory now.

If you lived on Colgate Ave you’ll probably remember the smell of soap growing up.

The old Colgate-Palmolive building built by the American company arrived in Australia’s shores in 1923 at East Balmain.

Bringing with it about 144 jobs and the birth of the iconic toothpaste down under.

It represented everything about the suburb, renown for its industry and blue-collar workers.

However after closing down officially in 1993 it remained empty until it was converted into plush new apartments, a representation of how Balmain itself has transformed in recent years.

Drummoyne Bowling Club

Once the heart of the local community, the state of the Drummoyne Bowlo is pretty dire.

The site has sat empty for almost a decade after it was shut down two years shy of its 100th birthday in 2012.

Inside the Drummoyne Bowlo. Picture: Gia Cattiva/ShhSydney.

Now an eyesore in the affluent suburb the vacant site has caused controversy among locals.

In the years since it has been home to squatters and at one a point a well-known youth gang who used it as their decrepit base.

Plans to redevelop it in the past 10 years have offered some hope, but they have never been seen through to the end.

The fire that almost turned it to ash last April was the closest anything has come to renovating the site.

A staggering 40 triple-0 calls were made as smoke howled over the inner west more than a year ago.

Marrickville Hospital/Library

Inside the new Marrickville Library, which was an abandoned hospital for almost 30 years.

Left abandoned for almost 30 years the former eerie site of the Marrickville Hospital was transformed in 2019 into an award-winning library that is the envy of Sydney.

It is one of the few historical sites that were knocked down in the inner west that have been put to community use.

No longer when you walk inside do you get the chills and a spooky feeling, walking through what would have been old medical wards.

The most recent history of the site began when it was closed down in 1990, bought up by Marrickville Council a few years later before it was transformed.

The $40 million project was in part funded by developer Mirvac as part of a deal to allow it to build 225 apartments on land near the new library.

Beale’s Piano Factory

The Beale factory in Annandale.

Once the largest manufacturer of pianos in the British Empire this historic site, like many, was transformed into apartments as Sydney began to boom in the late 1990s.

The Annandale factory is arguably one of the most historic of the inner west’s former gems.

From 1893 Octavius Charles Beale’s Trafalgar St site was the toast Australia’s industrial power.

So much so that the Prime Minister at the time, Sir Edmond Barton, opened the building.

From their Sydney base they were able to reach the top of the market, beating out foreign competition for pianos from the likes of Germany and the United States.

But as the population boomed in the 1990s and the factory closed down, the need for affordable housing was dawning on authorities in Sydney who repurposed the site into flash new homes.