Once a haven for the alternative live arts scene in Sydney, relocated and now closed for a decade, owners of the Leichhardt Hotel of Leichhardt are anticipating a comeback.
The classic suburban pub was originally constructed in 1888, in the Victorian Filigree style, adorned with decorative cast iron balustrades and veranda. The original was demolished in 1924 and a commanding new two-storey brick structure built in the Interwar Georgian Revival style.
For more than a century the pub on the corner of Balmain Road and Short Street served its local community, developing a reputation as a cultural hub, hosting the likes of iconic Australian punk band The Saints. It also instigated a tradition of being the gathering point for the Dykes on Bikes crew before they rode in to Oxford Street in the CBD to join Sydney’s famous Mardi Gras that takes place every March.
The large corner pub, with its ornate parapet and tower overlooking the inner west, found its way onto the State heritage register, which protects both its exterior and interior.
Hampered by its backstreet catchment, in 2001 publican Peter Whitfield engaged Scott Weston Architecture & Design to create a cutting-edge hospitality space in what had been a “grimy car tyre workshop” on Norton Street, less than a kilometre away.
Plans were submitted to council and the project completed in 2002, seeing the Leichhardt move into new digs. Described as offering a “mod-Mex menu and brightly coloured furniture” it was seen as “a refreshing change” on Norton Street, Sydney’s former ‘Little Italy’.
But a decade later all the shine was gone and what had once been a beloved community watering hole had become a tired pokies den, shedding reviews echoing “staff are unfriendly, and the place looks run down”.
In 2014, citing financial stress, the pub shut its doors.
Late 2017 the owners looked to the next iteration, submitting a DA with Inner West Council looking to demolish the existing building to construct a five-storey mixed-use development, comprising a commercial premise over two levels, beneath 11 residential units, all above basement car parking. Unable to secure approval, the DA was withdrawn.
The abandoned site has since become something of an eyesore, festooned with rubbish and graffiti.
In more recent times Council has begun receiving complaints, reporting people using the area to take drugs or as a temporary residence. A worker at an adjacent business said they saw dozens of rats on the site.
Council heeded the submissions and had officers clean up the front of the building. There is an idea being considered to potentially apply a mural that would commemorate the hotel’s past, although the history is out of step with the location.
Owners of the venue, Blairgrove P/L also operate the nearby Burwood Hotel, as well as Miss Mahjong’s, Burwood Chinatown and the Grand Shanghai Hotel.
The company has confirmed it has started a cleanup of the site, and that planning is underway for its future, with employee Gina Laros relaying they were “in talks with council” over ideas to reinvigorate the hotel.
PubTIC was unable to get further details from Blairgrove prior to publication.
