East Terrace is a road that marks the eastern edge of the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
.
Description
East Terrace is one of the main north–south thoroughfares through the east side of the city.
Although the terrace essentially runs north–south between
North Terrace and
South Terrace, unlike Adelaide's other three terraces, its path is far from a straight line; travelling the entire length of East Terrace requires turning at
right angle
In geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle of exactly 90 Degree (angle), degrees or radians corresponding to a quarter turn (geometry), turn. If a Line (mathematics)#Ray, ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the ad ...
s at most intersections from
Pirie Street
Pirie Street is a road on the east side of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It runs east–west, between East Terrace and King William Street. After crossing King William Street, it continues as Waymouth Street. It forms the south ...
onwards. The traffic flow, after a swerve to the east between
Grenfell and Pirie Streets, continues southwards over the Pirie intersection into
Hutt Street and on down to South Terrace.
After crossing South Terrace, East Terrace continues through the
parklands as Beaumont Road, but unlike other roads through the parklands it is not a thoroughfare; there is a break in the middle of it.
The terrace marks the eastern edge of
Colonel William Light
William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of the colony's capi ...
's plan for the
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defi ...
. Between
Grenfell Street
Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. Its intersection with Pulteney Street is formed by Hindmarsh Squa ...
and North Terrace, it also forms the boundary of Adelaide's
East End.
East Terrace separates the city centre from the eastern parts of the
Parklands, running adjacent to Parks 13 (
Rundle Park / Kadlitpina), 14 (
Rymill Park), 15 (Ityamaiitpinna), and 16 (
Victoria Park). The western edge of the terrace is occupied by shops, restaurants, cafes, office buildings, professional, consulting and medical practises, residences, a school, and a number of churches and pubs.
Since July 2012, a dedicated
bus lane
A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, generally to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway completely dedicated for use by buses, whilst ...
in both directions has existed between Grenfell Street and North Terrace.
Historic buildings
Grenfell Street Power Station

On the corner of Grenfell Street and East Terrace there is the old
Grenfell Street Power Station building. Much of the building now houses the
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music a ...
, facing Grenfell Street (which was
heritage-listed
This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...
on the
SA Heritage Register in November 1984), but the old
converter stations face East Terrace. There is an "Historic Engineering Plaque" on a ground level
plinth
A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
just east of the north-east corner of the Tandanya building, which was dedicated by the
Institution of Engineers, Australia, the
Electricity Trust of South Australia
The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was the Government of South Australia, South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electrical power industry, electricity provider from 1946 until its privatisation in 1999. ...
and the
Adelaide City Council on 6 April 1995.
Adelaide Fruit and Produce Exchange

Adelaide's original fruit and vegetable wholesale markets, known as the Adelaide Fruit and Produce Exchange, were established with a long frontage along East Terrace between Grenfell and Rundle Streets.
The markets closed in the 1980s and, after a long and controversial decision-making process involving some government funding, the Garden East (or East End Astoria) apartment development was built. This was the start of a growing number of prestige apartment buildings in the area.
"Building D" was designed by
Woods Bagot around 1999.
See also
References
Further reading
*
{{Adelaide CBD Streets
Streets in Adelaide