Piltawodli, located to the northern bank of the Torrens River, opposite the Adelaide Gaol on the current site of the North Adelaide Golf Links is an important site in the history of relations between Kaurna people and European colonists.  The site,…

St Paul’s Anglican Church was one of several Anglican churches built in the city in the early colonial period. For many years the city’s Anglican community worshipped at Holy Trinity on North Terrace, St Luke’s in Whitmore Square, and St John’s on…

Frank's Gents Barbershop and its owner Frank Vaiana have been a fixture of the East End for nearly six decades. Seventeen-year-old Frank arrived in Australia in 1957 from Sicily. He opened his barbershop that same year on East Terrace. The shop has…

The only Tiffany & Co. windows in Australia can be found in the Art Gallery of South Australia. American-born Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Tiffany & Company's founder Charles Lewis Tiffany, is widely regarded as one of the leading figures…

Between 1939 and 1949, this was the scene of thrilling fights and disputed decisions. For ten years, a boxing stadium was located just behind 184 Grenfell Street. Few purpose-built boxing stadiums were built in the city, and consequently many bouts…

At the end of Tavistock Lane you will discover a four-storey building with the words "Gerard & Goodman" painted on it.Alfred Gerard started his electrical merchandising business, Gerard & Goodman, in Rundle Street in 1907. The company…

The lion atop Fowler’s Live is a well-known icon of the City of Adelaide and provides a hint to the building’s former use. In 1854, David and James Fowler opened a retail shop in King William Street. The business grew rapidly and by the 1880s,…

The Adelaide Town Hall remains a major city landmark and a popular live music venue for concerts. The foundation stone for the City’s town hall was laid on 4 May 1863 by the Governor of South Australia at the time, Sir Dominick Daly. When it was…

A Catholic school known as St Romuald’s was established on Russell Street in 1876. Housed in what were originally the stables for a nearby soap and candle factory, this school was conducted by a lay teacher. In 1877, the Sisters of St Joseph took…

This two-storey home was built in 1893, the year Stella was born. Her father, Thomas Hopkins Bowen, was a surveyor. Stella writes that he "must have been a rather charming, cheerful little man, addicted to water-colour sketching and the making of…

Venere di Canova, or Venus as she is known, was the first public artwork to be erected in the city. It is a direct copy of a work by the 18th-century Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. (The title Venere di Canova means “Canova’s Venus”). The statue is…

As one of the last mansions on North Terrace, Ayers House is a rare sight. This bluestone mansion is a well-known feature of the city, partly because of its most famous owner, Sir Henry Ayers. Henry Ayers arrived in South Australia in 1840, four…

If you stand in front of the Adelaide Arcade in Rundle Mall, you will see Australia’s Commonwealth Coat of Arms proudly displayed high above on the building’s dome. But how is this possible? The Adelaide Arcade was built in 1885, and the first Coat…

This former hotel is one of the city’s most important and precious heritage sites despite its humble appearance. The simple structure was built in 1839, just two years after Colonel William Light first laid out the city. The hotel is named Viscount…

This prominent structure on Little Gilbert Street is the oldest Islamic mosque in  Australia. It is one of the few structures left that show the Muslim community's important contribution to South Australia's colonial era. Before motor vehicles…

A city memorial to those who fought in the First World War was first discussed in 1919. Architecture firm Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne Smith won a competition with their design, The Spirit of Sacrifice. The firm worked with Sydney sculptor…

This cottage you see was built for John Griffin and his family in 1857-1858. In 1890 his son Martin, a saddler and collar maker, took over ownership of the property with his sister Mary. The cottage remained with the Griffin family until 1914. A…