Site Profiles

Our Boys Institute – façade only

The former Our Boys Institute building is of heritage significance because of its association with the Our Boys Institute movement. Modelled on and supported by the Adelaide Branch of the YMCA the OBI fostered the physical and mental health of 13 to 18 year old boys and was a forerunner ... Continue Reading »

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

This church was built in 1872 of bluestone with much stucco; this is particularly evident in the tower with its squat spire where, as on the quoins, the stucco is lined to imitate stone.  The circular windows, with their heavy tracery, are a feature of the building. The building has had many ... Continue Reading »

House at 261 North Terrace

The building is a survival of the time- in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries- when North Terrace was a sought-after residential street.  It is a small, but elaborate Victorian villa in the French style, consisting of a porch, sawn ashlar stone, rusticated quoins, disappearing jalousies, mansard slate roof, with an attic and a ... Continue Reading »

Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity Church was the first Anglican church built in South Australia and is one of the oldest buildings in the City of Adelaide. Colonel William Light, Surveyor-General for the colony of South Australia allocated the site on Lot 9, before the general ... Continue Reading »

Lincoln College – Baker Family House (former home)

This house now forms part (the East Building) of Lincoln College, a residential college of The University of Adelaide. It is one of the earliest surviving mansions built on Brougham Place. The back part of this house was built in 1861 for Isaac Solomon Henry. It was bought in 1873 ... Continue Reading »

Masonic Hall – North Adelaide

Belmont was completed in 1858 for the North Adelaide Masonic and Public Hall Association and designed by Edmund Wright in the Roman Doric style which has symbolic significance for Freemasons. It is of historical significance as an early purpose-built masonic hall - many of the early lodges met ... Continue Reading »

St Mark’s College- Henry Watson’s House

This simple home with its trim little parapet wall and attic bedroom for servants, dates from the 1840's. Beneath the brick exterior however, lies a secret.  The original home was in fact one of Henry Manning's prefabricated timber cottages, shipped out from London and erected here around 1839 by Henry Watson, ... Continue Reading »

Queens Theatre – façade

The Queen's Theatre was originally built in 1840, making it one of the oldest surviving buildings in Adelaide.  In 1846 it was rebuilt as the Royal Victoria Theatre by George Selth Coppin, a popular comedian and successful actor-manager from Melbourne.  It was capable of holding 700 ... Continue Reading »

Christ Church Rectory

Christ Church Rectory in Palmer Place, North Adelaide, is one of the most imposing limestone buildings in South Australia.  The style of the building with its brick dressings owes much to contemporary rectories in England though this style stems from cottages of the early seventeenth century.  It was built in ... Continue Reading »

Parliament House

South Australia's Parliament House, one of Adelaide's most imposing buildings on the north-west corner of North Terrace and King William Road, was the object of bitter debate and wrangling during its planning and construction. Between 1872 and 1886 arguments raged over the site, and designs (originally provided by E.W. Wright and ... Continue Reading »

Pirie Street Methodist Church

This church, which was designed by Henry Stuckey, was begun in 1850 and finished in 1852, a year after the architect's death, so like other work of that architect he did not live to see it finished. It is less interesting than his other work; perhaps this demonstrates how much ... Continue Reading »

Scots Church – North Terrace

Scots Church was built in 1850-51 and was originally known as Chalmers' Free Church, a congregation of migrant Scottish free churchmen. The 120-foot (37 metre) spire which once dominated North Terrace was added in the late 1850s and the southern section in the early 1860s. Chalmers Church combined with the Flinders Street ... Continue Reading »

Scots Church – Flinders Street

The foundation stone of Scots Church in Flinders Street was laid in 1863 but the church was not ready for worship until 1865. It was built at a cost of 4,423 Pounds, and the detailed design was the work of George Abbott and the builder was Michael McMullen. The shape ... Continue Reading »

Theatre Royal

The Theatre Royal in Hindley Street was Adelaide's best known and most loved theatre. The first Theatre Royal was built in 1868 to the design of Thomas English. This rapidly proved inadequate, and in 1878 the building which was to serve Adelaide for eighty-four years was built. It was designed ... Continue Reading »

Cottages at 165 and 165A Sturt Street

These one-storied cottages were built in the 1840s and by 1849 were owned by John Martin; they were built of brick and their scalloped wooden fascia board came before cast-iron lace. The extension of the roof to form the veranda was unusual in an Adelaide cottage. They were demolished in the early ... Continue Reading »

Gresham Hotel

The Gresham Hotel, on the southwest corner of North Terrace and King William Street, stood on one of Adelaide's most prominent commercial sites. Built in 1873-74, the architect was possibly Daniel Garlick. A plain building, it had a large cast iron verandah and balcony, with columns grouped in pairs to ... Continue Reading »

Imperial Hotel

The Imperial Hotel, on the northeast corner of King William and Grenfell Street, was built in 1866 for Asher Hamm. Michael McMullen was the architect. A three-storied stuccoed building, it had two shops on the King William Street frontage as well as the usual hotel facilities. A similar building in ... Continue Reading »

The Castle Inn

The Castle Inn, on the northwest corner of Morphett and Hindley Streets, was demolished in 1966.  It was replaced by The Town House in 1972, later The Barron Townhouse and now the Rockford.

Shop and House at 3 Finniss Street

Erected in 1878, this dwelling and a shop which retains the original iron-formed window were built for Sir William Bundey when he was Attorney-General.  Today it is a private home.

Rymill House

Rymill House is a two storied stone building in the style of the Dutch Renaissance, built in 1881 by Henry Rymill on the site of a house which he had demolished.  The Coach house (which faces Hutt Street) matches the design of the house with stone walls of uncoursed ashlar, cemented brick ... Continue Reading »

Stag Hotel

The Stag, opened in 1849, was for many years a prominent landmark.  In the 1850's the early inn was a busy centre and the rear of the premises was practically the beginnings of the East End Markets.  Substantial stock yards, a weighbridge, and large stables provided accommodation of horses and ... Continue Reading »

St Mary Magdalene’s Anglican Church

Built in 1887, St Mary Magdalene's was established mission church of St John's Anglican Church on the site of the old St John's church.  It was designed in the Gothic Style by R. Garlick Howell and built of brick and bluestone re-used from the earlier church.

St Margaret’s

St Margaret's, erected in the 1890's, is remarkable for its beautiful squared blue stone walls. Dressings are all of brick.  The pyramid like cap was fired in one piece, as well as the caps of the pillars and front porch. The mosaic floor in the porch is said to have been brought to Adelaide from ... Continue Reading »

St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Cathedral

St Francis Xavier's is Adelaide's Catholic Cathedral. It is modelled architecturally upon Baylard Abbey Church in Yorkshire England.  The southern section was begun in 1856. The design was modified by Pugin & Pugin (England), architects.  The Cathedral complements the Treasury building opposite, the Law Courts and Police Station all of ... Continue Reading »

Taylor House

Taylor House was built around 1908-09 for W.D. Taylor, proprietor of the Lion Timber Mills. It was owned within the Taylor family until 1960 when it was purchased by the Adelaide Children's Hospital.  Like many other Brougham Place mansions it is used as medical offices. The ... Continue Reading »

Stow Memorial Church

The original name for this church commemorates the Reverend Thomas Quinton Stow, who arrived in Adelaide on 20 October 1837 as the first minister of the Congregational Church. Land adjoining the Treasury Building facing Victoria Square in Flinders Street was purchased in 1863 at a cost of £1,000 as ... Continue Reading »

Kingsmead – House

This town house was built Charles Jacobs in 1865. It was later owned by E.M. Bagot, a pastoralist, of Ned's Corner cattle station and notable for his role in the construction of the overland telegraph between Adelaide and Darwin. The wings on both sides of the main house were ... Continue Reading »

Beehive Corner Building

The Beehive Corner Building (1897) is a rare example of commercial Gothic Revival architecture in Adelaide. It was extensively restored in the 1990s. The building is associated with and named after the corner site which has been traditionally known as the Beehive Corner since the 1840s. Messrs Brewer and Robertson ... Continue Reading »

Treasury Building

The former Treasury Building was built in stages from 1839 to 1907.  The buildings we see today took nearly twenty years to reach completion, though their unity of conception suggests that they were designed as a whole by E. A. Hamilton who was Colonial Architect at the time when it ... Continue Reading »

House at 222 Brougham Place

This house as built in 1873 for John Bastin for his own occupation had no veranda on the street front. The present veranda and porch with the unusual pattern of cast-iron work has the feeling of the early twentieth century, as has the bull-nosed roof to the veranda. It remains a ... Continue Reading »

House at 225 Brougham Place

Though built in 1862 this house has a Regency flavour.  The porches are not original.  In 1873 it was bought by J.N. Blackmore, first Secretary in 1864 of the Adelaide Club, and Under Treasurer for South Australia from 1870 to 1875.  He lived here and for him the south wing ... Continue Reading »

Adelaide Town Hall

The Corporation of the City of Adelaide was established in 1840, making it the first local government authority in Australia.  It is now more commonly known as the Adelaide City Council. The foundation stone of the Adelaide Town Hall was laid on 4 May 1863 by the Governor ... Continue Reading »

Lincoln College – Brougham House

This house, a one-storied version of 58 Brougham Place, was built in 1881 on what had long been the garden of F.S. Dutton's house, now demolished, which stood to the East.  Dutton was twice Premier of South Australia, the second time in 1865; he resigned and became Agent-General in ... Continue Reading »

Simpson and Company Imperial Warehouse

A. Simpson and Son's Colonial Tinware Manufactory was on the northeast corner of Grenfell Street and Gawler Place. Simpson's had occupied the site in 1854, and first stages of the building were constructed about this time. In 1971, the second floor was added to the design of James Cumming; Brown ... Continue Reading »

Ochiltree House

A Victorian home of brick and iron construction.  Extensive verandahs including first floor with abundant iron lace.  The front elevation is capped with a Mansard roof with slates laid in patterns. The land was acquired in 1837 by Nathanial Alexander Knox (Officer of the East India Company and Founder of the ... Continue Reading »

South Australian Institute Building

The southern half of the Institute Building was completed in 1860 for the South Australian Institute a body created by Act of Parliament in 1856. It is historically significant as the oldest cultural building on North Terrace. It was the first permanent home of what are now termed the State ... Continue Reading »

St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral

St Peter's Anglican Cathedral is one of Adelaide's most significant architectural landmarks. The original design of the Cathedral was the work of the English architect William Butterfield, but owing to a disagreement over materials to be used, work began under architect E. J. Woods. The foundation stone was laid by ... Continue Reading »

South Australian Museum – East Wing

The South Australian Museum's Eastern Wing is historically significant as the third of four wings planned in the 1870s to house what was then known as the South Australian Institute. The fourth wing planned to front North Terrace was never built. Officially opened in December 1915 it housed Natural History ... Continue Reading »

Art Gallery of South Australia

The Art Gallery of South Australia began as the National Art Gallery of South Australia once it separated from the South Australian Institute, which originally incorporated the Gallery, Library and Museum. The freestone for this building came from Murray Bridge. The foundation stone was laid in 1898 and the original building ... Continue Reading »

Convent of Mercy (Catholic) – Cunningham Memorial Chapel

Completed in 1922 the Cunningham Memorial Chapel of the Convent of Mercy was built as a memorial to Mother Cecilia Cunningham's parents and is remarkable for its excellence of design and workmanship at a time when craft skills were still highly regarded. The richly detailed surfaces and finishes render this ... Continue Reading »

Adelaide Mosque

Built in 1889-90, The mosque was built by the small Afghan community of South Australia. The four minarets were added by 1903. It is the only mosque within the square mile of Adelaide. The Adelaide Mosque is historically significant as one of the few relics of Afghan immigration to South Australia ... Continue Reading »

Grand Central Hotel

The Grand Central Hotel, on the south-east corner of Rundle Street and Pulteney Street, was in its heyday Adelaide's Dorchester. It was built in 1910 on the site of the York Hotel. The giant facades were decorated with a complex pattern of string courses, pilasters ... Continue Reading »

Aurora Hotel

The Black Eagle hotel was licensed on the site at the corner of Pirie Street and Hindmarsh Square  from 1859.   It was built for Benjamin Da Costa.  Later, the hotel was known as the Marquis of Queensbury and then from 1894 as the Aurora.  The painter Hans Heysen was ... Continue Reading »

Stow Hall

Stow Church Hall, built in 1872, was the work of the architect James Cumming; the builders were Brown and Thompson. It was part of the Congregational Church and comprised a lecture hall, a schoolroom and classrooms for Sunday school. Again the main decoration detail, apart from the stonework, was patterned ... Continue Reading »

Flinders Street Primary School

The Flinders Street School opened in October 1878 as the City Model School, with an average daily attendance of 593 children.  Fees to the attend the school were based on a means test.  The building was the first two storey public school in the colony.  It was designed in a ... Continue Reading »

Cottage at 53 Stanley Street

This very simple cottage with its windows opening onto the footpath is a relic of the very early days of Adelaide.  It was built before 1851.

House at 75 Mackinnon Parade

This building with its quiet dignity and careful fenestration was built in 1868 as two semi-detached houses for Sir William Bundey, who was Attorney-General from 1878-1881 and was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1884.  The porch is a later addition.

Destitute Asylum Chapel

The surviving remains of the former Destitute Asylum complex include the Chapel, Schoolroom and Lying in hospital that are now incorporated in the Migration Museum accessed from Kintore Avenue. The Destitute Asylum dates from 1851, with extensions in 1853, 1863, 1865 and 1875. It operated until 1926, providing financial assistance and ... Continue Reading »

Adelaide Botanic Garden- Palm House Conservatory

The Adelaide Botanic Garden Palm House is a rare example of the larger iron and glass botanical houses of the mid-late 19th Century made possible by the technological developments of the Industrial Revolution. It is an excellent example of a sophisticated tensile structure and its design by the German architect Gustav ... Continue Reading »

Newmarket Hotel – facade and staircase

At this site on 11 January 1837, barely two weeks after the Proclamation of South Australia's new colonial government, Colonel William Light began his famous survey to lay out the city of Adelaide and its 1000 saleable lots from a point near what was later known as Town Acre 1. An ... Continue Reading »