North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.
History
Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colony of South Australia completed the survey for the capital city of Adelaide by 10 March 1837. The survey included , including north of the River Torrens. This surveyed land north of the river became North Adelaide.
North Adelaide was the birthplace of William Lawrence Bragg, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915 and Emily Dorothea Pavy, an Australian teacher, sociologist and lawyer.
It contains many heritage-listed buildings, including the North Adelaide Post Office.
Design
North Adelaide consists of three grids of varying dimension to suit the geography. North Adelaide is surrounded by parklands, with public gardens between the grids. The North Adelaide park lands (the Adelaide Park Lands north of the River Torrens) contain gardens, many sports fields (including the Adelaide Oval), a golf course, horse agistment paddocks and some areas sympathetic with the native environment.
The northernmost (and largest) grid has Wellington Square at its centre, and O'Connell Street (named after Daniel O'Connell) as its main commercial street. O'Connell Street is the continuation of King William Road, and links the main street of Adelaide City with Main North Road. A tram used to run up O'Connell Street and Melbourne street; the government is investigating extending the Glenelg tram along King William Road to terminate at Brougham Place. O'Connell Street has many cafes, restaurants, burger bars, shops and six pubs. Lincoln College (University of Adelaide) and Aquinas College (a residential college run by the Marists for the Archdiocese of Adelaide, for students at any Adelaide university), are also situated in this grid. Tynte Street is another commercial street in the largest grid running between Wellington Square and the east parklands. It contains the North Adelaide Primary School, a public library, a civic hall, a post office and a pub. Also on Tynte Street are the studios of Adelaide's Mix 102.3 and Cruise 1323.
The southernmost (and smallest) grid is bordered by Brougham Place to the north, Pennington Road to the south, Sir Edwin Smith Avenue to the east and Palmer Place with adjoining Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki to the west (these two named after Lt Col George Palmer (1799-1883), a South Australian Colonisation Commissioner). This area contains the Women's and Children's Hospital, the Memorial Hospital, St Peter's Cathedral, St. Mark's College, the Cathedral hotel (popular with cricket fans due its proximity to the Adelaide Oval), and the Queen's Head hotel (the oldest Adelaide pub, renovated in 2003).
The remaining (western) grid is termed Lower North Adelaide. It is nearest the Torrens floodplain. It contains Brougham Place Uniting Church, St. Ann's College, and four pubs. Melbourne Street, with cafes, restaurants, galleries, shops and two pubs, is its commercial street.
Leisure
Dining and pubs
O'Connell Street and Melbourne Street are known for their many restaurants.
Many of the North Adelaide pubs and hotels are heritage-listed. there are 11 pubs operational in the suburb: five in (most on O'Connell Street): in upper North Adelaide: the Caledonian, Royal Oak, Oxford, and Archer hotels (on O'Connell); and the Wellington on Wellington Square in lower North Adelaide: the Old Lion, the Kentish Arms, Lord Melbourne, and The British In the cathedral grid: Queen's Head Hotel and the Cathedral Hotel
Piccadilly Cinema
The Piccadilly, also known as Piccadilly Cinema(s), and formerly Piccadilly Theatre and The Forum, is a cinema located on the corner of O'Connell Street and Childers Street.
It was built for D. Clifford Theatres Ltd. as the Piccadilly Theatre in 1940, in art deco / moderne style. It is heritage-listed on both the South Australian Heritage Register and the Register of the National Estate. Dan Clifford chose the name due to his association with the town of Piccadilly in the Adelaide Hills as well as the famous Piccadilly Circus in London.
After Clifford's death in 1942, his theatres were bought by Greater Union in 1947, who renamed the Piccadilly as The Forum. In 1983 Wallis Cinemas bought the building in order to save it from being demolished, and reverted to its former name. During the 1990s Wallis converted the old picture palace into a multiplex with three screens.