What’s behind the mysterious door in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building? Shopper reveals the true function of a historic jewel hidden in plain sight
What’s behind the mysterious door in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building? Shopper reveals the true function of a historic jewel hidden in plain sight
Hidden in plain sight in Sydney’s incredible Queen Victoria Building is a ‘mysterious’ feature that hints at the rich history of the 125-year-old mall.
Halfway up a flight of stairs, a few inches above the ground, is a strange blue door marked ‘417’ that many passers-by would overlook.
Behind the door used to be the mall’s secret old horse and carriage elevators that carried the produce to the market on the lower floors.
While the elevator itself was big enough for a horse, carriage, and a few men, the small doors would provide access if the elevator needed repairs or maintenance.
Travel blogger known as Finding Adventures online posted about the find in a TikTok clamp which has resurfaced and piqued the interest of QVB visitors.
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A mysterious door in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building has been revealed as the entry point for the mall’s old horse lifts, which were used to carry supplies to the cellar markets
The door is in the wall near the stone steps leading down to the lower floors to the left of one of the building’s elevators
“Next time you’re in Sydney, you HAVE to go and find the mysterious door 417 in the restored Queen Victoria Building – there are still a number of random doors,” she said.
“While customers would take the beautiful elevator, door 417 gave access to the hidden horse elevator that took the produce to the basement markets.”
The door is in the wall near the stone steps leading down to the lower levels to the left of one of the building’s elevators.
When in use, the elevators were hidden behind the wall from the eyes of market patrons so that they could not see the horses as they descended.
According to Sydney incentivesthere are several doors around the mall that now either house electronics or air conditioning or lead nowhere and the customer is not allowed to find out.
When in use, the elevators were behind the walls of the 125-year-old building (pictured), hidden from customers’ view so they couldn’t see the horses as they descended
Australians online were stunned to learn about the bizarre door’s original use.
‘I have noticed it. Good to know what it was for!’ said a woman.
“I’ve always wandered around this door,” another wrote, with a third adding, “I literally had no idea and I walk past it every time.”
One man shared another historical find worth explaining: ‘Wynyard Coles still has the old wooden lift in Wynyard Lane that they ran into with the grocery cart’.
This isn’t the only time a shopper has wondered about a historic gem hidden in plain sight in the Queen Victoria Building.
More recently, a Redditor asked what a door high up near the ceiling was used for.
An ornate black staircase in the corner of the foyer under the mall’s glass dome winds up the wall to the mysterious door.
‘Yes! I’ve also often wondered what this staircase is,” said one user.
“My guess is magical wonderland or a boring old maintenance tunnel,” a second added.
“That is Queen Victoria’s personal quarters and where her spirit currently resides. Rumor has it she ventures down at midnight every full moon to collect all the coins from the dog statue on the doorstep,” a third joked.
More guesses were made before some well-known Sydneysiders came up with the real answer.
“The stairs lead to the void between the inner stained glass dome and the outer copper dome,” said one man.
‘That staircase is no longer used for insurance reasons. It is actually very nice above the dome, beautiful views. They did tours in 2018, and it was totally worth it,” someone else added.