Adelaide Arcade, Adelaida.
AUSTRÀLIA B/N 2023
Adelaide Arcade
The elegant Adelaide Arcade is a beautiful and intriguing example of South Australia’s living history. Opened in December 1885 to widespread acclaim, its distinctive domes, ornate details, and architectural grandeur had never before been seen in Adelaide.
It took 200 workers an unprecedented five months to complete Adelaide Arcade and the adjoining Gay’s Arcade. Considered extremely progressive at the time, new building materials and techniques were used, and it was one of the very first buildings in Adelaide to have electric lights. Featuring Carrara marble floors, glass-panelled ceilings, and extra-wide promenades, the Adelaide Arcade was a place of opulence.
The official opening reflected this grandeur, with street closures, crowds of onlookers, a visit from the Governor, and an orchestra playing ‘The Adelaide Arcade Polka’, especially composed for the occasion.
At the time of its opening, the Arcade housed 50 shops. Store owners would retail their wares from the ground floor, while their workrooms, accessed via an internal staircase, were located above on the first floor. The addition of a balcony level in 1968 doubled the number of stores in the Adelaide Arcade and provided the beautiful aesthetic we still enjoy inside the Arcade to this day.
In a life spanning three centuries, Adelaide Arcade has been home to many interesting tenants. One of the most exotic was the Turkish Baths, where you had your choice of warm baths for a shilling or Turkish baths for four shillings. Beneath the main floor was an underground chamber where patrons could enjoy refreshments. While the entrance was closed for many years, the tea rooms are now visible through a glass floor that has been built over the original ironwork staircase.
The uniqueness of the Adelaide Arcade doesn’t reside solely with the retailers. Did you know the Arcade has its own Coat of Arms, visible beneath the domes? Or that the fountain at the Rundle Mall entrance moved homes many times before finally coming to rest in its current location? The Balconette at the Grenfell Street end was designed as an orchestral gallery where bands played, and grand balls were held in Gay’s Arcade. The Arcade also saw the unfortunate and gruesome death of the resident caretaker in 1887… rumour has it his ghost still walks the promenade at night.
The Arcade has seen many changes through the years, from the addition of central trading booths in the thirties, the introduction of the balcony level in the sixties, and a major fire in the eighties. Over the years, however, the Arcade has been lovingly restored to its nineteenth-century glory and maintains its position as the luxurious heart of Adelaide’s central retail precinct.
Adelaide Arcade, Adelaida.
AUSTRÀLIA B/N 2023
Adelaide Arcade
The elegant Adelaide Arcade is a beautiful and intriguing example of South Australia’s living history. Opened in December 1885 to widespread acclaim, its distinctive domes, ornate details, and architectural grandeur had never before been seen in Adelaide.
It took 200 workers an unprecedented five months to complete Adelaide Arcade and the adjoining Gay’s Arcade. Considered extremely progressive at the time, new building materials and techniques were used, and it was one of the very first buildings in Adelaide to have electric lights. Featuring Carrara marble floors, glass-panelled ceilings, and extra-wide promenades, the Adelaide Arcade was a place of opulence.
The official opening reflected this grandeur, with street closures, crowds of onlookers, a visit from the Governor, and an orchestra playing ‘The Adelaide Arcade Polka’, especially composed for the occasion.
At the time of its opening, the Arcade housed 50 shops. Store owners would retail their wares from the ground floor, while their workrooms, accessed via an internal staircase, were located above on the first floor. The addition of a balcony level in 1968 doubled the number of stores in the Adelaide Arcade and provided the beautiful aesthetic we still enjoy inside the Arcade to this day.
In a life spanning three centuries, Adelaide Arcade has been home to many interesting tenants. One of the most exotic was the Turkish Baths, where you had your choice of warm baths for a shilling or Turkish baths for four shillings. Beneath the main floor was an underground chamber where patrons could enjoy refreshments. While the entrance was closed for many years, the tea rooms are now visible through a glass floor that has been built over the original ironwork staircase.
The uniqueness of the Adelaide Arcade doesn’t reside solely with the retailers. Did you know the Arcade has its own Coat of Arms, visible beneath the domes? Or that the fountain at the Rundle Mall entrance moved homes many times before finally coming to rest in its current location? The Balconette at the Grenfell Street end was designed as an orchestral gallery where bands played, and grand balls were held in Gay’s Arcade. The Arcade also saw the unfortunate and gruesome death of the resident caretaker in 1887… rumour has it his ghost still walks the promenade at night.
The Arcade has seen many changes through the years, from the addition of central trading booths in the thirties, the introduction of the balcony level in the sixties, and a major fire in the eighties. Over the years, however, the Arcade has been lovingly restored to its nineteenth-century glory and maintains its position as the luxurious heart of Adelaide’s central retail precinct.