The Strand Arcade

The Strand Arcade
Interior of The Strand Arcade
Location	195–197 Pitt Street, Sydney central business district, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°52′10″S 151°12′27″E / 33.8694°S 151.2076°E / -33.8694; 151.2076
Built	1890–1892
Architect	John B. Spencer Charles E. Fairfax (assistant)
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name	Strand Arcade
Type	State heritage (built)
Designated	13 December 2011
Reference no.	1864
Type	Shopping/retail complex
Category	Retail and Wholesale
Builders	Bignell and Clark (1891) Stephenson & Turner (1976)
Location of The Strand Arcade in Sydney

The Strand Arcade is a heritage-listed Victorian-style retail arcade located at 195–197 Pitt Street in the heart of the Sydney central business district, between Pitt Street Mall and George Street in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John B. Spencer, assisted by Charles E. Fairfax; and built from 1890 to 1892 by Bignell and Clark (1891), with renovations completed by Stephenson & Turner (1976). The only remaining arcade of its kind in Sydney, the property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 13 December 2011.^[1]

Being three storeys high, the arcade has the traditional-styled protruding galleries, cedar staircases, tiled floors, cast iron balusters and timber framed shop fronts, under a prominent, tinted glass roof to reduce glare. The arcade contains the preliminary boutiques that characterized the Sydney shopping experience of the 1890s. When the arcade opened in 1892, it was said to be the very latest in shopping centre designs and was described as, "The finest public thoroughfare in the Australian colonies". The arcade has endured two depressions, two World Wars and two major fires. The restored shop fronts are an exact replica of the original internal shopping facades.