King William Street, Adelaide

King William Street, looking north from Victoria Square, February 2009.
King William Street looking south, December 2010
BankSA head office in King William Street between Currie and Waymouth Streets, July 2007. Construction of the Glenelg Tramline extension in the foreground.
The intersection from King William Street, looking east towards Rundle Mall, 2013.
King William Street between North Terrace and Currie Street, looking south-west, November 2006.
Exterior of the Adelaide Town Hall viewed from the street
King William Road, North Adelaide, from the Adelaide Oval, looking south over the River Torrens towards North Terrace, King William Street and the Adelaide city centre, May 2009.
King William Street, looking north towards St Peter's Cathedral

King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide (the capital of South Australia).[1] It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month.[2] King William Street is 132 feet (40 m) wide, and is the widest main street of all the Australian State capital cities, which are significantly narrower by comparison. It is historically considered one of Adelaide's high streets, for its focal point of businesses, shops and other prominent establishments.

Glenelg Tramline

The Glenelg Tram runs the entire length of the street, with the northern end of the line continuing along North Terrace to the Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh and the southern end continuing along its own off-road right-of-way to Glenelg. Tram travel north of South Terrace is free.

King William Road

The name King William is applied several times to the continuous stretch of road that begins in the inner southern suburbs and terminates in North Adelaide. Where it runs through the Adelaide city centre, it is named "King William Street"; elsewhere it is named "King William Road". It starts in the south as King William Road, at the north edge of Heywood Park in Unley Park, and runs through Hyde Park and Unley to Greenhill Road. It runs through the south parklands (as Peacock Road), the Adelaide city centre (as King William Street) and continues north from North Terrace as King William Road to Brougham Place, North Adelaide. The road continues north to National Highway 1 as O'Connell Street, but the name King William is not again used. The northern section called King William Road (connecting the Adelaide city centre with North Adelaide) passes several of Adelaide's landmarks, including Government House, Elder Park, the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Oval and St Peter's Cathedral. The section from North Terrace over the Adelaide Bridge to Pennington Terrace was named King William Road at the opening of the bridge in 1877.[3]

Historical photographs

Name changes on streets crossing King William Street

Between North Terrace and South Terrace, all east-west roads change their names as they cross King William Street. It is said this is because no one is allowed to cross the path of a monarch.[2]

Also, travelling north-south, the cross-streets alternate between being wide (up to 4-lanes wide) and narrow (2-lanes wide), with the exception that Grote and Wakefield Streets are up to 6-lanes wide. Note that in the south half of the city, in several places the Adelaide City Council has increased the widths of footpaths and changed the road markings so that traffic is restricted to use a lesser number of lanes than the full width of the road.

Travelling south from North Terrace, the street pairs are:[4]

West
Terrace ↓
Morphett
Street ↓
King
William
Street ↓
Pulteney
Street ↓
East
Terrace ↓
Designed
width
North
Terrace
North
Terrace
North
Terrace
North
Terrace
4-lane
Hindley
Street
Hindley
Street
Rundle
Mall
Rundle
Street
2-lane
Currie
Street
Light
Square
Currie
Street
Grenfell
Street
Hindmarsh
Square
Grenfell
Street
4-lane
Waymouth
Street
Waymouth
Street
Pirie
Street
Pirie
Street
2-lane
Franklin
Street
Franklin
Street
Victoria

Square
Flinders
Street
Flinders
Street
4-lane
Grote
Street
Grote
Street
Wakefield
Street
Wakefield
Street
6-lane
Gouger
Street
Gouger
Street
Angas
Street
Angas
Street
4-lane
Wright
Street
Whitmore
Square
Wright
Street
Carrington
Street
Hurtle
Square
Carrington
Street
2-lane
Sturt
Street
Sturt
Street
Halifax
Street
Halifax
Street
4-lane
Gilbert
Street
Gilbert
Street
Gilles
Street
Gilles
Street
2-lane
South
Terrace
South
Terrace
South
Terrace
South
Terrace
4-lane
West
Terrace
Morphett
Street
King
William
Street
Pulteney
Street
East
Terrace
Designed
width

King William Road was referenced in the John Schumann song "Hyde Park Calling (King William Road Scene 1)" on the 1993 album True Believers.

See also

Australian Roads portal

References

  1. 2003 Adelaide Street Directory, 41st Edition. UBD (A Division of Universal Press Pty Ltd). 2003. ISBN 0-7319-1441-4.
  2. 1 2 "History of Adelaide through street names - Street Names". www.historysouthaustralia.net. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  3. "OPENING OF THE ADELAIDE BRIDGE.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900). Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 17 May 1877. p. 3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  4. Map of the Adelaide city centre, North Adelaide and the Adelaide Parklands.


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