Susannah Place in The Rocks, Australia

Located in The Rocks, Sydney's oldest neighborhood, the four humble terrace houses that make up Susannah Place were built in 1844 by Irish immigrants. For over 150 years, the row housed more than 100 working class families ranging from the families of Greek shopkeepers to Norwegian sailors. Having survived a bubonic plague outbreak, the resulting slum clearances, and the threat of gentrification, Susannah Place remained intact and relatively unchanged. In 1987, the New South Wales Historic Houses Trust in collaboration with the Sydney Cove Authority, began conservation work on the terrace. After the last residents moved out in 1990, major remedial work was undertaken in 1992, after which the properties were handed over to the trust, who subsequently converted the terrace houses into a museum. Unlike many modern heritage sites which are renovated to gleaming levels of polish, the Susannah Place Museum has peeled back the layers of the different houses, displaying them as snapshots in time from multiple distinct eras. Faded wallpaper and stripped paint provide an authentic backdrop, while donated items from previous tenants provide decoration, all giving insights into the living con…

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