Florence Terrace, and its similarly styled neighbour Julia Terrace (just to the right) date back to the final decades of the 19th century; 1881 to be precise. Who were Florence and Julia? Who knows? Probably relatives or loved ones of the builder, who have long since left the mortal stage while the buildings that bear their name have remained. I can't find anything about them in local historical societies or the like either.

I'm also uncertain about whether the two terraces were originally developed as residences or as commercial buildings. However they've clearly been commercial for a while now, though their nature is changing. You can see a smash repair business in the building just to the left of the terrace and unless the proprietors own the building, you have to wonder how long that can last there. At the time that I started working in Pyrmont there was also a coin operated laundromat in one of the buildings along here, but that has closed down as well; people who pay the kind of prices that are asked around here now can afford their own washers and dryers rather than having to trudge down a street to a shared one.

For the most part, the businesses that move out are replaced by more "white collar" types; fashion designers, property management companies... oh, except for the ubiquitous cafes and other eateries, almost all of which have "gourmet" in their name somewhere. Yes, even the pizza place that you see here ("Stars On The Run Gourmet Pizza"), though you won't be able to make it out in the reduced size image.
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Edit September 2023: Well, I picked that one. The "Gourmet Pizza" place had gone by November 2013, when the building had "For Lease" signs on it.

The panel beater lasted a bit longer, still being there in September 2017, though by January 2019 it had been replaced by an organic food cafe named Aurigin. (Which is, one would have to say, quite a leap in terms of materials sold.) By November 2020 Aurigin was gone as well, with a "For Lease" sign being in the window. Its web site can't be found any longer, though there's an ancient Instagram account which hasn't been updated for a couple of hundred weeks. When last I checked it was still "For Lease".

The empty shop to the right of that has been a hair salon called Salon 27 since at least 2016, and is still there as at the time of writing.

The "Gourmet Pizza" place became another cafe some time in late 2016, but the signage was never prominent so I've no idea what its name was or what type of food it served. It appears to have been there until at least late 2021, but by March 2022 had been replaced by a deliciously alliterative place called Paint Pinot Pyrmont, which is described as an "Art Cafe". It offered painting classes with good wine and food in an atmosphere of good music. Its Google reviews were universally 5 stars. Unfortunately... Google shows it as permanently closed. You would think that this would appeal to the young and not so young upwardly mobile types buying into the area, which it may have, but perhaps not enough. Or the problem may have been the timing, since we still had the tail end of some Covid restrictions in 2022, but there weren't many as best I recall.

I don't know what the story is for the next place to the right, the one that desperately, oh desperately needs a meeting with a paintbrush and a few cans of Dulux, and still does last I saw. It never seems to be open as a business, but nor does it have "For Lease" signs. Maybe it's the lair of a Bond super-villain, but somehow I doubt it.

The last fully visible place on the right - the dark coloured one - was repainted in a cream colour some time in early 2015. By early 2021 it was home to a massage therapist, and still has that role today as far as I am aware.

I need to make one correction to the original commentary too; I made the assumption that "people who pay the kind of prices that are asked around here now can afford their own washers and dryers". Yeah, that was rookie personal finance mistake #1 that only pre-mortgage me could make. First, with the obscene prices of Sydney housing, people will sometimes sink so much of their wealth into it that they have to ration out the remaining cash very carefully. Second, if we look back at the image of Paternoster Row earlier in this gallery, I described the layout of one of the older terrace houses. There is no space - NONE - for a laundry. This isn't likely to be a problem with brand new apartments, but will be an issue in some of the historic houses.

That is probably why a dry cleaners (which also does laundry) opened up a couple of shops to the right of here in early 2022.