Brisbane City is the central

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

and

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

, historically known as '' Meanjin'', ''Mianjin'' or ''Meeanjin'' in the local Aboriginal Australian dialect. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

of the Brisbane River to the east, south and west. The point, known at its tip as

Gardens Point Gardens Point is a peninsula in central Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located south of Alice Street and bounded by the Brisbane River on its other three sides. The Brisbane CBD lies immediately to the north of the point. Gardens Point ...

, slopes upward to the north-west where the city is bounded by parkland and the inner city suburb of Spring Hill to the north. The CBD is bounded to the north-east by the suburb of Fortitude Valley. To the west the CBD is bounded by Petrie Terrace, which in 2010 was reinstated as a suburb (after being made a locality of Brisbane City in the 1970s). In the the suburb of Brisbane City had a population of 9,460 people.

Geography

The Brisbane central business district is an area of densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings, interspersed by several parks such as Roma Street Parklands, City Botanic Gardens and Wickham Park. It occupies an area of 1.367 km². The city is laid out according to a grid pattern surveyed during the city's early colonial days, a feature typical of most Australian street patterns. Most central streets are named after members of the House of Hanover. Queen Street (named in honour of Queen Victoria) is Brisbane's traditional main street and contains its largest pedestrian mall, the Queen Street Mall. Streets named after female members ( Adelaide,

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, Charlotte, Elizabeth,

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, and Mary) run parallel to Queen Street and perpendicular to streets named after male members ( Albert,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, George, and William). The CBD's squares include King George Square, Post Office Square and ANZAC Square (home to the city's central war memorial). The Brisbane central business district was built on a spur of the

Taylor Range The Taylor Range or Herbert Taylor Range is a mountain range on the western edge of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first named The Glenmorrison Range by John Oxley during his exploration of the area in January 1824. In 1828, the colon ...

with the highest spot in the suburb being

Wickham Terrace Wickham Terrace is one of the historic streets of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known as the street of private medical specialists. Geography Wickham Terrace commences at the western corner of the intersection of Ann Street and Whar ...

. North Quay is an area in the CBD that was a landing point during the first European exploration of the

Petrie Bight

Petrie Bight is a reach of the

(), which gives its name to the small pocket of land centred on the area under the Story Bridge's northern point, around the Brisbane River to Admiralty Towers II. The location was originally known as Petrie Gardens and was an early settlement farm, one of two that provided food for the colony. The site was named after

Andrew Petrie Andrew Petrie (1798 - 20 February 1872) was a pioneer, architect and builder in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Early life Andrew Petrie was born in Fife, Scotland. He trained as a builder in Edinburgh. He married Mary Cuthbertson in 1821. C ...

and has been the base for water police and in earlier times wharves. The location of Customs House and the preference for wharves was due to site being directly downstream from the central business district.

History

Wharf Street Baptist Church opened at 38 Wharf Street (corner of Adelaide Street, ) on 6 February 1859. It was the first

Baptist church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

to be built in Queensland, the Brisbane congregation having previously met in a range of public buildings since forming in 1855. It was designed in the Early Italianate style and was built by

. The church was and could accommodate 250 people. The cost was £2000 for the land and building, but part of the cost was covered by donations, e.g.

Thomas Blacket Stephens Thomas Blacket Stephens (5 January 1819 – 26 August 1877) was a wealthy Brisbane businessman and newspaper proprietor who also served as an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council,Brisbane City Council Archives a Member of the Legis ...

partially donated the land. In 1881, the church was enlarged, but the need for further growth resulted in a decision to build a new church, the City Tabernacle in

. The Wharf Street church was sold, holding its last service on 5 October 1890 with the tabernacle being dedicated on 9 October 1890. The building is no longer extant. On Tuesday 25 May 2021, a Baptist Historic plaque was placed at the site to commemorate the church. On 2 April 1860 the Queensland Government opened its first school, the Brisbane National School in Adelaide Street under headmaster John Rendall with an initial enrolment of 50 boys and 8 girls. A congregation of the Church of Christ was established on 23 September 1883 in the Brisbane central area. In the late 1890s the congregation purchased 430 Ann Street () to establish their first church, still operating as at 2021 under the name Your Church. The Brisbane City Library opened in 1965, moving into Brisbane Square in 2006. In 2010 and 2011, the city centre was damaged by floods. In the Brisbane City had a population of 9,460 people. Bne2017 2

Buildings and precincts

Albert Street Uniting Church, Brisbane, October 2021

Up until 1964, a Brisbane City Council regulation limited building heights to . Some of the first skyscrapers built in the CBD include the SGIO building (now

Suncorp Plaza Suncorp Plaza is a high-rise building in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Suncorp Plaza, formerly known as the SGIO Building and Theatre, is located on the intersection of Albert and Turbot Streets. The building is opposite the Brisbane De ...

) in 1970 and AMP Place in 1977. In the last few decades the number of apartment buildings that have been constructed has increased substantially. Brisbane is home to several of Australia's tallest buildings. Brisbane's tallest buildings are

Brisbane Skytower Brisbane Skytower is a skyscraper at 222 Margaret Street in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The 90-storey residential tower is Brisbane's tallest building, and the sixth tallest building in Australia. It is also the largest residential bui ...

at 270 metres, The One at 264 metres, One William Street at 260 metres,

Soleil SOLEIL ("Sun" in French) is a synchrotron facility near Paris, France. It performed its first acceleration of electrons on May 14, 2006. The name ''SOLEIL'' is a backronym for ''Source optimisée de lumière d’énergie intermédiaire du LURE' ...

at 243 metres,

Aurora Tower Aurora Tower is a skyscraper in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is 207 metres tall and was the tallest building in Brisbane from 2006 until being surpassed by Soleil in 2011. Aurora has 69 storeys comprising four floors of 18 penthouses, 54 ...

at 207 metres,

Riparian Plaza Riparian Plaza is a 53-storey skyscraper located in the central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The building stands at in height to its communications spire and to its roof. It was Brisbane's tallest building until it wa ...

at 200 metres,

One One One Eagle Street One One One Eagle Street is a office building at 111 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the city centre. With 6 star Green Star office design rating, the building is part of the CBD's 'Golden Triangle' district. Its loca ...

at 195 metres, and

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

at 249 metres, which was completed in 2014. The Brisbane CBD is one of the major business hubs in Australia. The City contains many tall office buildings occupied by organisations, businesses and all three levels of government that have emerged into a number of precincts. The areas around the Queen Street Mall and Adelaide Street is primarily a retail precinct. A legal precinct exists around the various court buildings located around the intersections of George Street and Adelaide and

Streets. The government precinct was an area centred on the Executive Building that includes many Queensland Government offices.

111 George Street 111 George Street is a building on George Street in the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia which was completed in 1993. The building is owned, managed and occupied by the Queensland Government. With its repetitive grill pattern, it is someti ...

Mineral House In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ...

, and

Education House Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

are also located here.

1 William Street 1 William Street is an office building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The building has had a number of names, originally the J. & W. Seligman & Company Building, and later the Lehman Brothers Building. Currently ...

was completed in 2016, now serving the role of the former Executive Building. The Executive Building and Neville Bonner building were demolished for the state's largest infrastructure project. An

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project based around the Queen's Wharf megaproject is under construction along the southern end of William Street, which includes a pedestrian bridge crossing the Riverside Expressway.

Schools

The city is serviced by a number of schools in the surrounding suburbs including the

Petrie Terrace State School Petrie is a surname of Scottish origin which may refer to: People * Alexander Petrie (died 1662), Scottish minister * Alistair Petrie (born 1970), English actor * Andrew Petrie (1798–1872), Scottish-born builder, architect and first free settle ...

in Paddington and The Albert Park Flexi School in Petrie Terrace.

Rental prices

Like most other Australian capital cities, Brisbane has experienced dramatic rises in rental prices for residential and office space before the global financial crisis. At the beginning of 2008, the Brisbane central business district contained 1.7 million square metres of office space. High demand in the office market had pushed vacancy rates in the Brisbane CBD to 0.7% by January 2008, the lowest in Australia. Premium grade office space was even less vacant with an occupancy rate of 99.9%. By the end of 2009 the situation had reversed. In mid 2013 the market for office space had declined to its worst position in two decades with a vacancy rate of just under 13%.

Attractions

Major landmarks and attractions in the CBD include

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

(including the Museum of Brisbane), the Story Bridge, the

Howard Smith Wharves Howard Smith Wharves is a heritage-listed wharf on the Brisbane River at Boundary Street, Brisbane City and Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to 1940s circa. It is also known as Brisbane Central Wha ...

, ANZAC Square,

St John's Cathedral :''This list is for St. John the Evangelist Cathedrals. For St. John the Baptist Cathedrals, see St. John the Baptist Cathedral (disambiguation)'' St. John's Cathedral, St. John Cathedral, or Cathedral of St. John, or other variations on the name, ...

, the

and its Riverwalk network, the City Botanic Gardens,

Roma Street Parkland Roma Street Parkland covers 11 hectares in the centre of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Roma Street Parkland is adjacent to Brisbane Transit Centre and the Roma Street railway station from which it takes its name (the park ...

Queensland Parliament House Parliament House in Brisbane is the meeting place of the Parliament of Queensland, housing its only chamber, the Legislative Assembly. It is located on the corner of George Street and Alice Street at Gardens Point in the CBD, and is next ...

Old Government House Old Government House may refer to: * Old Government House, Parramatta, Australia * Old Government House, Queensland, Australia * Old Government House, South Australia, Australia * Old Government House, Hobart, Australia * Old Government House, Fred ...

and Customs House.

Heritage listings

Brisbane has many

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

sites, including: * a number of properties in Adelaide Street, Brisbane * a number of properties in

Albert Street, Brisbane Albert Street is a street in the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. It was named after Prince Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Albert Street railway station is being built directly beneath the street and is ...

* a number of properties in Alice Street, Brisbane * a number of properties in Ann Street, Brisbane * Boundary Street:

* a number of properties in

Charlotte Street, Brisbane Charlotte Street is a road in the central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The street is one of a number that were named after female queens and princesses of the royal family shortly after the penal colony was settled. Ma ...

* Coronation Drive:

Coronation Drive retaining wall Coronation Drive Retaining Wall is a heritage-listed embankment at Coronation Drive, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was formerly known as the North Quay retaining wall. It was designed by Thomas Kirk and built f ...

* 15 Countess Street: Roma Street railway station * a number of properties in

Creek Street, Brisbane Creek Street is a major street in the central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The street follows a one-way south–north direction, starting at the beginning of Charlotte Street and cutting through Elizabeth Street, Que ...

* 118 Eagle Street:

Mooney Memorial Fountain Mooney Memorial Fountain is a heritage-listed memorial at 118 Eagle Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by William Holloway Chambers and built from 1878 to 1880 by William Webster. It is also know ...

* 118A Eagle Street:

Eagle Street Fig Trees Eagle Street Fig Trees is a heritage-listed group of trees at 118A Eagle Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. They were planted by Walter Hill. It is also known as Fig Tree Reserve and Plantation Reserve. It was ad ...

* a number of properties in Edward Street, Brisbane * a number of properties in Elizabeth Street, Brisbane * a number of properties in

Margaret Street, Brisbane Margaret Street is a major road in the central business district of Brisbane. The street is one of a number that were named after female members of the royal family shortly after the penal colony was settled. Alice Street lies to the south, ...

* 20–30 Market Street: Wenley House * a number of properties in

Mary Street, Brisbane Mary Street is a major road in the Brisbane central business district. The street is one of a number that were named after female queens and princesses of the royal family shortly after the penal colony was settled. Charlotte Street is positio ...

* a number of properties in North Quay, Brisbane * a number of properties in Queen Street, Brisbane * Skew Street:

First Brisbane Burial Ground The First Brisbane Burial Ground is a heritage-listed archaeological site at Skew Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Skew Street Cemetery. It was established in 1825 as part of the Moreton Bay ...

* Skew Street: William Jolly Bridge * 168

Turbot Street Turbot Street runs parallel to Ann Street and is on the northern side of the Brisbane central business district, Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia. It is a major thoroughfare, linking as a three-to-five lane one-way street with the Riversid ...

Brisbane Dental Hospital and College Brisbane Dental Hospital and College is a heritage-listed former dental hospital at 168 Turbot Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Raymond C Nowland and built from 1938 to 1941 by the Queensland Department of Pu ...

* 224

: King Edward Park Air Raid Shelter * 436

Upper Roma Street Roma Street is a major street in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. It is named after Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen. Geography Roma Street is the main north-west road ...

Hellesvere Hellesvere is a heritage-listed detached house at 436 Upper Roma Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built . It is also known as Eton. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. H ...

* a number of properties in William Street, Brisbane

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 9,460 people in Brisbane City. 32.2% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 8.9%, South Korea 8.3%, England 3.7%, Taiwan 3.2% and Brazil 2.8%. 43.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 12.3%, Korean 7.7%, Cantonese 3.6%, Spanish 2.9% and Portuguese 2.7%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 43.0% and Catholic 16.8%.

Transport

By road, four road bridges connect the CBD with the southern bank of the Brisbane River: the Captain Cook Bridge, the

Victoria Bridge Victoria Bridge may be a reference to: Bridges ;Australia * Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, a road bridge across the Brisbane River in Brisbane * Victoria Bridge, Devonport a road ridge across the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania * Victoria Bridge, M ...

, the William Jolly Bridge and the Go Between Bridge. The Story Bridge connects Fortitude Valley with Kangaroo Point and provides access to the city from the southern bank. The Captain Cook Bridge connects the Pacific Motorway, south of the river, with the Riverside Expressway which runs along the south western edge of the city. Heading under and bypassing the CBD is the

Clem Jones Tunnel The M7 Clem Jones Tunnel (CLEM7), known during its development as the North-South Bypass Tunnel (NSBT), is a A$3.2 billion motorway grade toll road under the Brisbane River, between Woolloongabba and Bowen Hills in Brisbane, Queensland. T ...

. Because on-street car parking is in high demand, parking meters are installed across the inner city. By bicycle and foot, the Goodwill Bridge allows cross river access to South Bank. The Kurilpa Bridge allows cross river access from North Quay to South Brisbane. Cyclists and pedestrians may also cross while using the Victoria, William Jolly, Go Between and Story road bridges. The Brisbane central business district is the central hub for all public transport services in Brisbane. Bus services are centred on the Queen Street bus station and

King George Square busway station King George Square busway station is located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia serving the Brisbane central business district. It is located beneath King George Square and marks the start of the Northern Busway. The station has twelve stops on ...

. Suburban train services pass through Central railway station, and Roma Street railway station. Roma Street also serves as the terminus for long distance and country services. The central business district is served by various city ferries. Brisbane's CityCat high speed ferry service, popular with tourists and commuters, operates services along the

between the University of Queensland and Northshore Hamilton, stopping at several CBD wharves. The

Brisbane Riverwalk The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Gov ...

, a pedestrian and cyclist pathway adjoins the central business district along the river bank. King George Square Busway Station

In popular culture

The Brisbane CBD has featured in a number of films, including: * ''

Inspector Gadget 2 ''Inspector Gadget 2'' (sometimes called ''Inspector 2 Gadget'' and ''IG2'') is a 2003 American superhero comedy film released direct-to-video on VHS and DVD on March 11, 2003. The film is based on the 1983 cartoon series created by DIC Enterta ...

'', the sequel to '' Inspector Gadget'', featured many scenes showing the Brisbane CBD,

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

and Kangaroo Point. * '' The Marine'', a film featuring John Cena, featured the Golden Triangle district of the CBD, during a scene in which an explosion occurred. * '' Fool's Gold'', a 2008 film featured the CBD primarily the Botanic Gardens throughout the beginning of the film. * One of Jackie Chan's films, ''

Jackie Chan's First Strike ''Police Story 4: First Strike'' (), also known as ''First Strike'' or ''Jackie Chan's First Strike'', is a 1996 Hong Kong action comedy film directed and co-written by Stanley Tong, and starring Jackie Chan, Jackson Lou, Annie Wu, Bill Tung, ...

'', featured the city in many scenes to the end of the film from Fortitude Valley, east of the CBD. * The Brisbane CBD was used in Powderfinger's 2009 music video " All of the Dreamers". * The 2009 vampire film '' Daybreakers'' was filmed in Brisbane. * In the 2015 film '' San Andreas'' starring Dwayne Johnson, several streets of the CBD were used to portray San Francisco. * In the 2017 film '' Thor: Ragnarok'', Mary Street was used in a scene with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston to portray New York City.

References

External links

* {{Capital city central business districts of Australia Suburbs of the City of Brisbane Central business districts in Australia Retail buildings in Queensland 1825 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1825