On Saturday morning, March 20th, we rode the subway system to the Queen Victoria Building. The Queen Victoria Building has been described by Pierre Cardin as "the most beautiful shopping center in the world." This outstanding example of Byzantine architecture, which occupies an entire city block, was built in 1898 to replace the original Sydney Markets. Later, it accommodated a concert hall, which eventually became the City Library. The building was remodelled in the 1930s and used for different purposes, including municipal offices.
In 1984 it was completely refurbished as a shopping center, with more than 200 shops. The renovations, by a Malaysian company, were highly imaginative and thoughtful. The building has a series of domes with exquisite stained glass windows and extensive wood panelling throughout. Even the restrooms on each floor were magnificent. In one, there were no sinks to wash your hands; only a marble slab and it was positioned so that the water ran down to one end. I, of course, had to take a picture of that! 
The building consists of four main shopping floors, the top three protected by decorated cast-iron railings. Much of the tile work, especially under the central dome, is original. Underground passage ways leads off to Town Hall Station at the southern end and to a food court at the north.
A marvelous hanging clock, The Royal Clock, displays a series of mechanically moving tableaux of British kings and queens every hour on the hour. This "exhibition" is heralded by loud trumpeters that rise out of the top of the clock and ends with the beheading of Charles I. We couldn't believe our eyes when Charles I's head was chopped off. Can't imagine being a child and watching these beautiful moving scenes and all of a sudden, plop. Talk about being damaged for life!
The Great Australian Clock weighs 4 tons and stands 10 meters tall. It includes 33 scenes from Australian history, seen from both Aboriginal and European perspectives. An Aboriginal hunter circles the exterior of the clock continuously, representing the never-ending passage of time.
One of the shops we went into featured decorative carnival masks from Venice, Italy. The shopkeeper was very nice and told me I could photograph them. He said people purchased the masks for different costume parties and of course, some people purchased them because they were collectors. Some of the masks were made of leather and some were handmade using paper mache. The shopkeeper's son, who was probably about 10 years old, was busy cleaning the front window when I arrived at the shop. Later as I was browsing, he came up to me and asked if he could be of assistance to me. I commented to the shopkeeper about his industrious small worker and he replied "he better be industrious - he is getting paid to do this."
It was a wonderous morning exploring each floor and going through the shops. I loved the beautiful architecture and stained glass windows.
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