various government institutions. The northern wing building was occupied by the Legislative Council and Executive Council, and was eventually expanded to become the Parliament House for New South Wales. The southern wing building became the Sydney Mint, among other functions. After Macquarie, subsequent governors and (after the establishment of responsible government in the colony) governments continued to regard Macquarie Street as the axis of an informal governmental and public precinct. The State Library of New South Wales, the Colonial Secretary's Building and the old Treasury Building, (now part of the InterContinental Hotel) are examples of such institutions. At the same time, as an elegant tree-lined boulevarde adjacent both to the commercial city centre and the green spaces of the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Domain, the street became Sydney's most pre-eminent residential address. In particular, the close proximity to Sydney Hospital and court buildings attracted leading barristers and doctors to set up chambers and surgeries along the street. In 1977, the New South Wales government built a new Law Courts Building at Queen's Square at the southern end of the street, to house the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Sydney registries of the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia. Burdekin House, built in 1842 and described as the finest private residence in Sydney, was located on Macquarie Street. Its demolition became an early rallying point for the conservation movement in Sydney. St Stephen's Presbyterian Church was built in 1934 on the site of Burdekin House, after an earlier St Stephen's in Phillip Street was demolished for the creation of Martin Place. The Garden Palace, a grand building constructed for the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879, was located on Macquarie Street, but was destroyed by fire only a few years later. The northern section of Macquarie Street was initially a path through the Governor's Domain leading to Bennelong Point. After Government House was moved further up the hill, the path was widened and became part of Macquarie Street, leading to land to the west of the street being sold off for commercial development in the 1840s-1850s. Today, this northern section of Macquarie Street runs along the eastern side of Circular Quay. To the east of this northern section is the Royal Botanic Gardens, while to the west of the street, the historic sandstone Moore Stairs, built in 1868 leads to the waterfront. In the