Above the Canopy

Curated by Adelaide City Council

Rundle Mall was previously an extension of Rundle Street, which was the heart of Adelaide’s retail centre from the 1880s, before being officially opened on 1 September 1976 by Premier Don Dunston as we know it now. This walk highlights some of the beautiful heritage listed facades located above the shop fronts, signage and canopies in Australia’s first pedestrian mall.


Explore the many shops, eateries, and laneways along the way!

Beehive Corner

By 1850 the western entrance to Rundle Street was framed by two significant buildings. Occupying one of the prime sites within the City of Adelaide, the previous Beehive Corner building was a two-storey simple structure with a chamfered corner. It…

Waterhouse Chambers

Occupying the other prime site is Waterhouse Chambers, a group of shops and offices built in 1847-1850 for Thomas Greaves Waterhouse. Thomas, a financier, and his brother John operated a grocery business on Rundle Street before returns from the Burra…

The Grand Picture Theatre

The Grand Picture Theatre opened on 30 November 1916 for the Lord Mayor and other dignitaries before it officially opened to the public the next day with ‘The Fool’s Revenge’. In the early 1930s, the auditorium was modified to an Art Deco style, and…

Young's Shoe Store

When CJ Young’s Shoe Co. was rebuilt in 1925-1926, it was described as an artistic addition to the architecture of Rundle Street. Novel methods were used to rebuild the shoe store. In order to allow business to proceed, the architects Charles W Rutt…

Birks Pharmacy

This building was constructed in 1925 for Birks’ Chemists to the design of architects McMichael and Harris. At 18 years of age, George Napier Birk obtained a position as a pharmaceutical apprentice with Mr F H Faulding in his chemist shop at 5 Rundle…

Balfours Cafe

Within a year of his arrival James Calder had returned to his calling of baker and confectioner. His early years of business were a struggle, the manufacturing methods were laborious and tedious, and the machinery capable of only a limited production…

Regent Arcade

The most opulent theatre on Rundle Street was the Regent Theatre, built in 1927-1928 to the design of architects Cedric, Ballantyne & Associates of Melbourne and English, Soward & Jackson of Adelaide. The elaborate plasterwork was done by…

Adelaide Arcade

Adelaide Arcade, the first arcade erected in Adelaide, opened in December 1885 and was funded by Saul Solomon, Lewis Henry Berens, Joachim Matthias Wendt, Robert Carr Castle, Hermann Koeppon Carl Wendt, Emanuel Cohen and Patrick Gay. The design by…

Coles Building

Harry Norris, a Melbourne based architect, travelled overseas to study the latest in retail architecture for this new store for GJ Coles Pty Ltd. This 1939 building is a standout in the Art Deco catalogue of Adelaide buildings and is often mistaken…

Vosz Shop

Located alongside the Richmond Hotel, this war-time 400 seat cinema, opened New Year’s Day 1943 as the Liberty. It was also known as the Curzon Theatre over the years. Described as ‘the aristocrat of intimate cinema’, it became Adelaide’s first art…

Hotel Richmond

Licensed from New Year’s Eve 1838 as the Cornwall Inn by William John Williams, the first publican, the hotel traded as the Plough and Harrow Hotel from 1844. After being rebuilt for the fourth time in 1927 to the design of Murray Richardson, it was…

Kithers Butchers

In 1857, William Kither Snr took over a butchery established on this site the previous year. William Jnr worked for his father, succeeding him after his death in 1869. By 1880, this Italian Renaissance style building, designed by Rees and Hornabrook,…

150-152 Rundle Mall Shop

Its construction was made possible by a large inheritance which Samuel George Smith received from his father’s estate in the early 1860s. Tenders for erection of three shops were called for by architects Daniel Garlick and Son in 1886. The…
This walk is approximately 0.6 kilometres in total. Please allow 45-60 minutes to complete.

Hard copies of this trail can be collected from the Visitor Information Centre in James Place, Adelaide (just off Rundle Mall). For more information, visit: www.cityofadelaide.com.au/heritage