Hay Street is a major road through the central business district of Perth, Western Australia and adjacent suburbs. The street was named after

Robert William Hay Robert William Hay (1786–1861) was a British public official. Biography Early life Robert William Hay was born in 1786 in Westminster, London, England.

, the Permanent Under Secretary for Colonies. Sections of the road were called Howick Street and Twiss Street until 1897. One block in the central business section is now a pedestrian mall with extremely limited vehicular traffic, so that it is necessary to make a significant detour in order to drive the entire length of Hay Street.

Route description

Orientated east-west, the road starts at

The Causeway The Causeway is an arterial traffic crossing in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburbs of East Perth and Victoria Park. It is carried over the Swan River at the eastern end of Perth Water by two bridges on either side of ...

travelling west through the suburbs of

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, West Perth, and Subiaco, where the road originally terminated at Subiaco. Unusually, the street numbers reset to 1 when Hay Street crosses Thomas Street and enters Subiaco. A subway under the

Fremantle railway line The Fremantle line is a suburban railway and service in Western Australia that connects the central business district (CBD) of Perth with Fremantle. History The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban rai ...

was constructed in the early 1900s, replaced when the railway was moved underground through Subiaco in 1999. From that point it becomes Underwood Avenue through Jolimont, Floreat (past Perry Lakes) and ends in Swanbourne.

Buildings

A number of buildings are along the road, including: *

Gledden Building The Gledden Building is an Art Deco office building in Perth, Western Australia. The building was constructed on land that had been bequested to the University of Western Australia by surveyor Robert Gledden. Site and brief The building is loca ...

* His Majesty's Theatre *

London Court London Court is a three and four-level open-roofed shopping arcade located in the central business district in Perth, Western Australia. It was built in 1937 by wealthy gold financier and businessman Claude de Bernales for residential and commer ...

* Melbourne Hotel *

Perth Town Hall The Perth Town Hall, situated on the corner of Hay and Barrack streets in Perth, Western Australia, is the only town hall built by convicts in Australia. Upon completion it was the tallest structure in Perth. History Designed by Richard Roach ...

* City of Perth Library * Carillon City *

Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade The Piccadilly Cinema Centre (formerly Piccadilly Theatre) and Piccadilly Arcade are located at 700-704 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, designed by architect William T. Leighton for m ...

* Plaza Theatre and Arcade * QV.1 * Regal Theatre *

Ross Memorial Church The Ross Memorial Church is a Uniting Church building on Hay Street in West Perth, Western Australia. History Five years prior to the construction of the church a brick hall (designed by Andrew Oswald Wilson) was built adjacent to the chur ...

* St Georges Hall * Subiaco Hotel * Walsh's Building

History

Pedestrian mall

The Hay Street pedestrian mall was the earliest conversion from street to mall in Perth, introduced in 1972, despite the road being a major thoroughfare. Through traffic was initially diverted to either Murray Street or St Georges Terrace.

Cathedral Square

Hay Street between Pier Street and

Barrack Street Barrack Street is one of two major cross-streets in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. Together with St Georges Terrace, Wellington Street and William Street it defines the boundary of the main shopping precinct of the ...

defines the northern boundary of a block, that has evolved in name from the ''Cathedral precinct'' to ''Cathedral Square'', in which the

, and the City of Perth Library are situated on the Hay Street side of the square.

Major intersections

In popular culture

A photograph of the Hay Street pedestrian mall taken in the early 1980s was used as the cover art for Perth-based psychedelic rock band

Pond's Pond's is an American brand of beauty and health care products, currently owned by Unilever. History Pond's Cream was invented in the United States as a patent medicine by pharmacist Theron T. Pond (1800–1852) of Utica, New York, in 1846. M ...

2017 album The Weather.

Notes

References

External links

* * Photographs of Hay Street a
State Library of Western AustraliaPicture Australia
an
Flickr
{{Perth CBD Streets Streets in Perth central business district, Western Australia Streets in West Perth, Western Australia Subiaco, Western Australia Pedestrian malls in Australia