The spaces within the USU are more than just buildings; they’re stages for the ever-evolving drama of student life. From performance spaces to bars and gardens, this blog uncovers the history behind the physical spaces that have shaped our union’s character and charm.
1. The Cellar Theatre 🎭
The Cellar Theatre, currently the home of the Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS), has had many lives over its more than 80 year existence.
Starting out as an underground tea room known as the Buttery, it was briefly earmarked as a bomb shelter during World War II, before becoming a jazz lounge in 1964 (and acquiring the name ‘Cellar’), momentarily considered to be the site of a new pizza bar, discotheque, or pub in the 1970s, and finally settling on its current use as a performance space in 1978 when it was renovated to accommodate that very purpose.
The Cellar’s been through a lot over the years, but we think its current incarnation is its best yet – so make sure you catch a show there before the space eventually transforms once again (who knows what it’ll be next!).
2. Manning Bar 🔊
Did you know that Manning Bar wasn’t always where it is today?
When it was first opened in 1974, Manning Bar was originally on level 1 of Manning House and exuded a totally different vibe.
It was moved up a level in 1991 and then that entire section of the building was demolished in 1998 and rebuilt in the following years.
In 2000, the Manning Bar of the present was opened and it’s stayed pretty much the same ever since.
Ship of Theseus anyone?
3. The Pleasance 🍃
Did you know that Holme Courtyard used to be a lush garden known as ‘The Pleasance’?
The site chosen for the Holme Building in 1911 was the site of the old University botanic gardens and it was built around what remained of them.
According to legend, by 1930 what remained of the botanic garden had disappeared, with members having “picked a flower, the fruit of a rare shrub which was a last remnant.”
Let’s hope no one picks the fruit of the Big Yellow Bench!
4. First Menu at Fisher 🥧
Ever wondered what food and drink the USU used to sell?
Take a peek at the earliest menu in the USU’s archival collection.
From 1914, this was what was on offer at the Fisher Refectory, a tearoom that the Men’s
Union used to operate underneath the Quadrangle.
I’ll have a beef tea and an apple pie please!
📸 All Images: Courtesy of the University of Sydney Archives