100 Harris Street

The imposing building at 100 Harris Street occupies a large block of land down to Pyrmont Street. It has had many owners, several names, and two main functions since 1910.

Schute, Bell, Badgery & Lumby came to Pyrmont in 1906 as an established and ambitious wool broker. Buying lots 35 and 36 of the Pyrmont Estate from the University of Sydney in 1910, they built a wool store between Harris and Pyrmont Streets. Like other wool stores, this was handy for Darling Harbour and the railway system.

As the company prospered, two floors were added in 1913; the company bought lot 37 in 1925, and lot 34 in 1941, then demolished all three to create a state-of-the-art self-contained wool store. In 1955 Blackwood’s ironmongers sold them lot 38, for a car park. By that time the firm had been sold (in 1948) to the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Agency.

When the wool trade moved to Botany Bay, Pyrmont’s wool palaces closed for business. 100 Harris was sold to the Wakils (City Leasing) in 1971 and lay dormant until it was tastefully refurbished as a co-working complex, and re-opened in 2017 as WeWork.

Related Items

• Harris Street

• Susan and Isaac Wakil

• Wool Stores

Further Reading

• Structural Features – 100 Harris Street