Tribute to the past

It is always heartening when a developer or entrepreneur pays tribute to the past as with the Patonga Hotel and Cinema Paradiso Complex on the Peninsula.

Both are a pleasure to visit.

Much of modern architecture is arid and dehumanising.

The old sandstone buildings and colonial mansions of the 19th century are solid, grand and substantial.

But the cream, in my view, is the look of the 1930s decade, the art deco decade, that wonderful era of glamour, sophistication and class.

Letter, 16 Feb 2010 Keith Whitfield, Woy Woy