The Myer Centre is a multi-storied retail building located between the
Queen Street Mall
The Queen Street Mall is a pedestrian mall located on Queen Street in the centre of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The mall extends approximately from George Street to Edward Street, and has more than 700 retailers over of retail spa ...
and
Elizabeth Street in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
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
, established_ ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
named after
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
, its largest tenant. It is a nine-floor shopping complex which includes Queensland's largest
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
department store. It was Australia's largest central business district retail development until 1991 when superseded by Adelaide's Myer Centre.
Stores
The Myer Centre is currently home to approximately 180 stores. Upon opening in 1988 it housed 230 stores including Australia's second-largest Myer department store. The Myer Centre stores are open to the public seven days a week.
Layout
![Myer-Centre-Brisbane](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Myer-Centre-Brisbane.jpg)
Due to the hilly landscape of the Brisbane CBD, The Myer Centre's floors are labelled differently from that of most shopping centres. Whereas many shopping centres label their floors purely by number (level 1, level 2, etc.) or its vertical position (lower level, upper level, etc.), The Myer Centre is laid out in the following fashion (lowest level to highest):
*Level S (named after the
Sizzler
Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Washington, Arizona, Neva ...
restaurant):
Sizzler
Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Washington, Arizona, Neva ...
*Level T (Lower Target level (formerly), one lift only): no longer open to the general public
*Level A (Albert Street entrance):
Queen Street bus station
Queen Street bus station is the primary bus terminus in Brisbane central business district in Queensland, Australia. It is underneath The Myer Centre and Queen Street Mall. It opened on 26 March 1988. At the time it was the largest undergroun ...
,
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
, food court
*Level E (Elizabeth Street entrance):
Coles Central, food court, specialty stores
*Level Q (Queen Street entrance):
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
(Beauty Floor), specialty stores
*Level 1 (first floor above any street level):
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
(Women's Floor),
Lincraft
Lincraft is a retail chain in Australia that specialises in the sale of homewares, including crafts, material, and patterns. As of October 2022, it has 48 locations around Australia and New Zealand.
Lincraft (formerly Suzanne Silks) was nurtured ...
, specialty stores
*Level 2 (second floor above street levels):
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
(Men's Floor),
DVD King
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
,
Daiso
is a large franchise of 100-yen shops founded in Japan. The headquarters are in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Daiso has a range of over 100,000 products, of which over 40 percent are imported goods, many of them from China, South Kor ...
,
Lincraft
Lincraft is a retail chain in Australia that specialises in the sale of homewares, including crafts, material, and patterns. As of October 2022, it has 48 locations around Australia and New Zealand.
Lincraft (formerly Suzanne Silks) was nurtured ...
,
Best & Less
Best & Less is an Australian retailer of clothing and household linens. As of 2020, Best&Less has 246 stores as well as an online platform.
History
Best & Less was founded by Berel Ginges in January 1965, by occupying part of the ground floor of ...
,
Oxfam
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International.
History
Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
Shop, Skinnys
*Level 3 (third floor above street levels):
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
(Homewares and Children's Floor) (accessed from within store only),
Event Cinemas
Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie the ...
*Level 4 (fourth floor above street levels):
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
(Home Entertainment Floor) (accessed from within store only)
*Level R (two lifts only): Centre Management
History
The Myer Centre shopping complex opened for trading on 28 March 1988
(just in time for Brisbane's
World Expo '88) and
Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
relocated its Brisbane department store into it. More than 500,000 customers visited within the first four days of operation.
Previously, the original Brisbane Myer store extended from Queen Street to Adelaide Street, with entrances at both ends. That old location was on the opposite side of Queen Street to its current location in The Myer Centre. The old store was split in half by
Burnett Lane
The Early Streets of Brisbane is a heritage-listed archaeological site at sections of Albert Street, George Street, William Street, North Quay, and Queen's Wharf Road in Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built ...
and the arcade through today's ''Queen Adelaide Building'' used to be the main thoroughfare through the old Myer store. Myer purchased that original location from the Allan and Stark department store. The
Allan and Stark Building
The Allan and Stark Building is a heritage-listed row of contiguous but not identical retail buildings located at 110 Queen Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The architect was Andrea Stombuco. It was also known ...
are heritage listed. Originally, one of the entrances opened onto the busy Queen Street, before it was pedestrianised to become the
Queen Street Mall
The Queen Street Mall is a pedestrian mall located on Queen Street in the centre of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The mall extends approximately from George Street to Edward Street, and has more than 700 retailers over of retail spa ...
in 1982.
The construction project by
REMM Group Ltd went for 18 months, and required excavation of 375,000 cubic metres of earth, to a depth of 22 metres (eight metres below 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 ...
level), which was the largest urban excavation in Australia at that time.
The design emphasised a Victorian theme, utilising ornate railing and fittings in brass and green, with terrazzo floor tiles.
Previously located on the site were four historic buildings of the
Hotel Carlton
Hotel Carlton is a boutique hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco which has been operating since 1927. It is operated by Joie de Vivre Hospitality.
It is a contributing property to the Lower Nob Hill Apartment Hotel District, which was listed on ...
(1885), New York Hotel (1860),
Newspaper House
Manor Apartment Hotel is a heritage-listed former office building and now apartment hotel at 289 Queen Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hennessey, Hennessey & Co and built from 1930 to 1931 ...
, from which the
Brisbane Telegraph
The ''Telegraph'' was an evening newspaper published in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first published on 1 October 1872 and its final edition appeared on 5 February 1988. In its day it was recognised as one of the best news pictorial n ...
was first published, and the
Barry and Roberts Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...
department store. Using
facadism
Facadism, façadism, or façadomy is the architectural and construction practice where the facade of a building is designed or constructed separately from the rest of a building, or when only the facade of a building is preserved with new buil ...
, the facades of those buildings have been retained and restored.
In November 1998 the Myer Centre was purchased by Gandel Retail Trust for $371 million, making it the second largest property transaction in Australia's history at that time.
The top floor of the centre was a fun park, Top's, until it was demolished and replaced by a cinema in 2000. The fun park comprised various small shops, an amusement centre, a swing ship, a dragon train, and a
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...
. When the theme park was operating, screams of excitement and terror could be heard from the patrons of both the swing ship and the dragon train. Prior to 2000, the cinemas were originally situated in the area now occupied by Target on one level only, and operated by Hoyts.
In the past, the centre's tenants included fairly substantial nightclubs. In the early 1990s, the basement area (subsequently occupied by
Sizzler
Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Washington, Arizona, Neva ...
) hosted "The Funkyard", a nightspot with an emphasis on the "alternative" guitar rock of the era. The Funkyard hosted live gigs; for example, the U.S. band Dark Carnival played there, with Ron Asheton of the Stooges on guitar. Another former tenant of the centre which played host to live music was the "Metropolis" nightclub, adjacent to the bus tunnel on Level "A", near the place now occupied by glamour photography shop "Starshots". Irish "shoegaze" band My Bloody Valentine played at Metropolis in 1991, supported by Straitjacket Fits (from New Zealand) and the Underground Lovers.
In 2005 the centre was purchased by Colonial First State Property group as part of the purchase of Gandels Centres.
The centre was valued at A$732 million in 2012 when
ISPT purchased a half stake.
On 8 March 2013, the front of the Myer Centre was the scene of an hour-long siege. The gunman was subdued by police using rubber bullets.
Transport
Car
The Myer Centre has Brisbane CBD's largest car park with 1,450 undercover car park bays and on-site staff available 24 hours a day. The car park uses Park Assist technology to guide drivers to an available bay and help find their car if the driver can't locate it on their return.
Bus
The Myer Centre is also one of the bus transit hubs for the Brisbane CBD. Many bus routes commence and terminate under the Myer Centre at the
Queen Street bus station
Queen Street bus station is the primary bus terminus in Brisbane central business district in Queensland, Australia. It is underneath The Myer Centre and Queen Street Mall. It opened on 26 March 1988. At the time it was the largest undergroun ...
on the
Albert Street level of the complex.
Train
The Myer Centre is also within easy walking distance of three railway stations:
*
Central Station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
*
South Brisbane Station
*
Roma Street Station.
References
External links
The Myer Shopping Centre — official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myer Centre, The
Shopping centres in Brisbane
Queen Street, Brisbane
Elizabeth Street, Brisbane
Albert Street, Brisbane