Brisbane Arcade is a heritage-listed

shopping arcade A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

at 160 Queen Street through to Adelaide Street in the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district 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 ...

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainlan ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey, Junior and built in 1923 to 1924 by J & E L Rees and Forsyth & Speering. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

The Brisbane Arcade was opened in March 1924. It was built for a cost of for Dr James Mayne, and his sister

Mary Emelia Mayne Mary Emelia Mayne (31 December 1858 – 12 August 1940), was an Australian philanthropist. Early life Born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Mary Emelia Mayne was the second youngest of five children of Irish parents, Patrick Mayne, a butcher ...

. Their father, Patrick Mayne, had purchased the property as two adjoining allotments in 1853 (allotment 2 of section 10, with a frontage to Queen Street) and 1854 (allotment 17 of section 10, with a frontage to Adelaide Street). The arcade was designed by Richard Gailey Jnr (the son of architect

Richard Gailey Richard Gailey, Sr. (22 April 1834 – 24 April 1924) was an Irish-born Australian architect. Gailey was born in Donegal, Ireland and emigrated to Australia in 1864, becoming an influential and prolific architect in colonial-era Brisbane. He ...

) and built by J & E L Rees (Queen Street section), & Forsyth and Speering (Adelaide Street section). It provided a pedestrian and commercial link between Queen and Adelaide Streets. The arcade contained shops with frontages to Adelaide and Queen Streets, 20 shops on the ground level of the arcade, and a further 20 on the first floor. The building also contained office accommodation on the first level. The Arcade was one of a number of building projects in Queen Street during the 1920s including

Ascot Chambers Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victor ...

(1924), Tattersalls Club (1925) and the Regent Theatre (1928). Although there does not appear to have been an official opening ceremony, in the first week of March 1924 a number of tenants announced the opening of their arcade stores full of luxury items, such as silks, ladies' fashion and floral art. Since the deaths of James Mayne in 1939, and Mary Mayne in 1940, Brisbane Arcade has been operated by a

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit org ...

acting on behalf of their

estates Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representati ...

, with operating proceeds benefiting the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

School of Medicine (now known as the

University of Queensland Mayne Medical School University of Queensland Mayne Medical School is a heritage-listed university building at 288 Herston Road, Herston, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Raymond Clare Nowland and built from 1938 to 1939. It is also kno ...

in honour of the bequest). McGees Property manages the arcade on behalf of the board of trustees. On 5 February 1952, the

Johnstone Gallery The Johnstone Gallery was a private gallery located in the suburb of Bowen Hills in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia co-owned by Brian Johnstone and his wife, Marjorie Johnstone (née Mant). It was the leading Brisbane commercial gallery exhibitin ...

was opened in a former bomb shelter under Brisbane Arcade, where it remained until closing on 19 December 1957 in order to relocate to

Bowen Hills Bowen Hills is an inner north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the Bowen Hills had a population of 3,226 people. Geography Bowen Hills is by road from the Brisbane CBD. Mayne is a neighbourhood within the s ...

Description

The Brisbane Arcade connects Queen and Adelaide Streets in the block between

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-Sax ...

and Albert Streets. The facades at each end have similar features - both are three storeys high and five window

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

across, of face brickwork with cement dressings, and use plain Classical details. The Queen Street facade has triangular Classical

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s at

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

level above each end window bay. These end bays are separated by flanking brick

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

and have

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

on both levels with wrought iron railings consisting of vertical

balustrading A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its co ...

. The openings contain timber framed multi-paned windows and

french doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...

which open onto the balconies. Ornate floral mouldings are situated on the pilasters to either side of the upper level openings. A deep bracketed

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

runs between the base of the pediments separating the parapet from the remainder of the facade. The parapet has raised sections at each end and in the centre where there is the name "BRISBANE ARCADE" in raised lettering. The Adelaide Street facade has a similar arrangement of openings, but has arched windows in the end bays of the top floor with keystones that extend to the cornice line. A similar cornice occurs above all the other window openings as sun hoods. Cantilevered balconies occur only on the first floor level at each end and in the centre. These have wrought iron railings with diagonal balustrading. The entry to the

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

is central on both facades. The three storey sections extend only part of the distance into the block from both ends and are linked by the two storey arcade. Some of the ground floor shops have been changed from the traditional materials polished timber shopfronts and lead-light windows to be replaced by marble and other modern products. The central space has a void running the length of the arcade crossed by a central walkway leading to the galleries on each side. The upper level is accessed by

stairs Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

at each end which retain their original

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

finishes. The roof structure above the arcade consists of lightweight exposed steel

trusses A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembla ...

, and natural light is allowed into the space through

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows on each side. The arcade features art work from the hosting of Brisbane's World Expo '88, namely, "Mirage" by Swiss-Israeli artist Gidon Graetz. Today the Brisbane Arcade features a range of artisan and boutique stores, with several fashion, jewellery and specialist businesses operating out of the location.

Heritage listing

Brisbane Arcade was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The Brisbane Arcade is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a 1920s purpose-built shopping arcade in the central business district of Brisbane. The Brisbane Arcade is important in exhibiting a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the Brisbane community and those interested in retail design, in particular the quality of its design, use of materials and craftsmanship displayed in the main internal space and street facades its contribution to the central business district townscape, and the Queen Street and Adelaide Street streetscapes. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The Brisbane Arcade is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a 1920s purpose-built shopping arcade in the central business district of Brisbane. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The Brisbane Arcade is important in exhibiting a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the Brisbane community and those interested in retail design, in particular the quality of its design, use of materials and craftsmanship displayed in the main internal space and street facades its contribution to the central business district townscape, and the Queen Street and Adelaide Street streetscapes.

Gallery

File:Brisbane CBD brisbane arcade.jpg, Entering the arcade, 2014 File:Gidongraetzmirageathebrisbanearcade.jpg, Gidon Graetz' work 'Mirage' at the centre of the Arcade, 2008 File:Rosescafeathebrisbanearcade.jpg, Roses Cafe at the Gallery level of the Arcade, 2008 File:Eleanora Brisbane RWR.jpg, Eleanora Brisbane at Room with Roses, Brisbane Arcade, 2016

References

Attribution

External links

Official website
{{Shopping centres in Queensland Shopping arcades in Australia Shopping centres in Brisbane History of Brisbane Queen Street, Brisbane Queensland Heritage Register Shopping malls established in 1923 1923 establishments in Australia Brisbane central business district Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register