The Queen Street Mall is a

pedestrian mall Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

located on Queen Street in the centre of

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. The mall extends approximately from George Street to Edward Street, and has more than 700 retailers over of retail space, which includes six major shopping centres. It was intended to bring more people into the

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 ...

History

The mall was designed by

Robin Gibson (architect) Robin Gibson (15 May 1930 – 28 March 2014) was an Australian architect, from Brisbane, Queensland. Personal life Robert Findlay ('Robin') Gibson was born in Brisbane in 1930, and attended the Yeronga State School and Brisbane State High School ...

. After being closed to traffic in 1981, the initial pedestrian mall was opened by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on 9 August 1982, in order to be ready for the Brisbane

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. Initially, the section of Queen Street between Albert Street and Edward Street was partitioned off to form a pedestrian-only retail precinct, and it was then extended in 1988 to include the section of Queen Street between Albert Street and George Street, timed to coincide with Brisbane's

Expo '88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo wa ...

. The mall underwent a $25,000,000 refurbishment in 1999, which saw (among other things) the terracotta paving being replaced by granite.Queen Street Mall - the heart of Brisbane
The Albert Street section of the mall was refurbished again in 2007. The

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

announced in 2009 that

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 ...

, a narrow laneway that runs between George Street and Albert Street, and parallel to the mall, would be refurbished and integrated into the Queen Street Mall precinct.

2013 siege

On 8 March 2013, the mall was the scene of a 90 minute siege. The offender, Lee Matthew Hillier, had a long criminal history. He was shot several times with

non-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

rounds, ending the incident. He pled guilty to charges including assaulting police and going armed to cause fear. In January 2014 he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail.

Features

There are a number of shopping centres located in the Queen Street Mall, including: * Wintergarden (opened 1982), * The Myer Centre (opened 1988), *

Broadway on the Mall Broadway on the Mall was a four-storey shopping mall, located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, between the Queen Street Mall and Adelaide Street in the Brisbane central business district. It was developed by Mace Developments and Jennings ...

(opened 1989), * Queens Plaza (opened 2005), *

Brisbane Arcade Brisbane Arcade is a heritage-listed shopping arcade at 160 Queen Street through to Adelaide Street in the Brisbane CBD, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey, Junior and built in 1923 to 1924 by J & E L ...

(opened 1923), *

Q&A Building Q&A ("question and answer") may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Q & A'' (film), a 1990 American crime drama film * "Q&A" (''The Batman''), a 2004 episode of the TV series * "Q&A" (''Homeland''), a 2012 episode of the ...

, *

Queen Adelaide Building Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

, *

Tattersall's Arcade Tattersalls (formerly Tattersall's) is the main auctioneer of race horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Founding It was founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724–1795), who had been stud groom to the second Duke of Kingston. T ...

At the intersection of Queen Street and Albert Street at the centre of the mall is a steel structure designed to provide shade and cover from the weather. An entertainment stage for music, model shows, and other performances is situated near the George Street end of the mall, between the Myer Centre and the Queen Adelaide Building. The stage is covered by an roof. Underneath the Queen Street Mall is 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 ...

. In the development of stage one and stage two of the mall, significant heritage-listed building facades were preserved, giving the mall a restored yesteryear feeling.

Shopping centres

There are several significant shopping centres located on the Queen Street Mall. These include the Wintergarden (opened in 1982), The Myer Centre (opened in 1988),

(opened in 1989) and the lavish Queens Plaza, situated at the northern end of the mall, which was opened in two stages, the first in 2005, and the second in 2008.Queen Street Mall
. Brisbane Marketing. Retrieved on 23 January 2012. The Wintergarden is a three level shopping centre with over 70 specialty stores including a gymnasium, ten pin bowling alley, luxury Hilton hotel, H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and

R. M. Williams Reginald Murray "R.M." Williams AO CMG (24 May 19084 November 2003) was an Australian bushman and entrepreneur who rose from a swagman to a millionaire. He was born at Belalie North near Jamestown in the Mid North of South Australia, north ...

. In November 2009, it was announced that the Wintergarden will undergo a A$100 million refurbishment in two 12-month stages. The new Wintergarden will once more become of the

Brisbane central business district 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 ...

's premier shopping destinations, and an impressive architectural site. The Myer Centre is the Brisbane CBD's largest shopping centre. It has almost 200 stores spread across 6 floors including Queensland's largest department store,

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 ...

, as well as

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 ...

and Birch Carroll and Coyle. Broadway on the Mall is a four level shopping centre with around 60 stores. It closed in August 2013 for refurbishment and reopened 18 months later. QueensPlaza is the Brisbane CBD's most upmarket shopping centre. It has around 80 stores on three levels including

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

and Australia's largest single location David Jones department store. There are other smaller shopping centres and arcades on the Queen Street Mall. These include the historic

, the Q&A Building and the heritage Tattersall's Arcade.

Refurbishment

The mall also underwent refurbishment in 1999 from its signature terracotta tile footpath to a grey slate tile footpath, with several significant art commissions and new tree and shrub enclosures (with bench seating) throughout.

Further developments

In 2006, the other end of the George Street engagement with the Mall ('top of the Mall') saw the opening of

Brisbane Square Brisbane Square is a high-rise building in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The building has 38 floors and rises to 151 metres. The building's main use is for office space, the lower floors leased to retailers, with a 350-space car park below t ...

which further extended the grey slate tile rendering of the Mall, and, in 2008 extension of the Mall along Albert Street to the corner of Albert Street and Adelaide Street. The

announced in 2009 that Burnett Lane, a narrow laneway that runs between George Street and Albert Street, and parallel to the Mall, will be integrated into the Queen Street Mall precinct with a vibrant boutique bar/restaurant scene on the cards.

Management

Management of the mall was originally covered by the ''Local Government (Queen Street Mall) Act 1981'' (Qld), until it was repealed and replaced by the ''City of Brisbane Act 2010'' (Qld).

References

External links

{{Brisbane landmarks Buildings and structures in Brisbane Streets in Brisbane Tourist attractions in Brisbane Shopping districts and streets in Australia Pedestrian malls in Australia History of Brisbane 1982 establishments in Australia Queen Street, Brisbane George Street, Brisbane Edward Street, Brisbane Albert Street, Brisbane ms:Queen Street Mall, Brisbane