95-99 George Street, The Rocks, Heritage building in The Rocks, Sydney, Australia.
95-99 George Street is a two-storey brick terrace with an iron roof, built around 1867 by William Bradridge as three shops with dwellings above. The 1871 council rates record five rooms per unit; a cellar cool room from the butcher's shop at No. 95 survives.
The site lay within Sydney's first hospital grounds from about 1788; the assistant surgeon's residence there was later occupied by convict architect Francis Greenway, who refused to leave after his 1822 dismissal. After his wife Mary died in 1832, Greenway sold part of the property with the house to Frederick Wright Unwin for £150, and was forcibly evicted in July 1836. Unwin leased the land to Michael Gannon in 1839 on condition he build three-storey houses; the present two-storey brick terrace with iron roof was built about 1867–68, possibly by William Bradridge.
The building shows a typical pattern from the 1800s where shopkeepers lived directly above their businesses, blending commerce and home life in the same structure. This arrangement was common in neighborhoods like The Rocks and shaped how merchants and their families organized their daily routines.
The building contains active retail spaces and is publicly accessible at street level, though the residential units above are private. Its location on George Street makes it easy to find and explore while visiting other attractions in the area.
The building was constructed on the site of Sydney's first hospital, creating a surprising connection between medical history and later commercial development. This shift from healthcare to retail shows how The Rocks transformed over time.
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