Rundle Mall, Adelaide

Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as Australia's first pedestrian mall in September 1976 by closing the section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to vehicular traffic. The street continues as Rundle Street (as before) to the east and Hindley Street to the west.

The pedestrian mall has become the centerpiece of Adelaide's city centre, home to some of the most expensive real estate (per square metre) in the state. It competes with the large shopping complexes in the suburbs, (e.g. Westfield Marion, Centro Arndale, Elizabeth Shopping Centre, etc.) In 2009, retail space directly on the mall leased for up to $3,700 per square metre per year.

The mall is home to the South Australian flagship stores of many large Australian retailers and a large number of smaller independent and chain stores. The mall also features a number of arcades and plazas containing smaller boutiques and eateries. These include the Italianate styled Adelaide Arcade (also being the first retail establishment in Australia with electric lighting, and allegedly home to six ghosts), Regent Arcade, Gays Arcade, City Cross, Southern Cross, Adelaide Central Plaza, Myer Centre, Renaissance Arcade, and Rundle Place.

There are usually several buskers performing in the mall, licensed by the Adelaide City Council. The mall's stores are generally open seven days a week.

Rundle Street, from which the mall takes its name, is named after John Rundle, a member of the British House of Commons and an original director of the South Australia Company. The street was named on 23 May 1837 by the Street Naming Committee. In 1895, the first electric street lighting was installed at the intersection of Rundle Street (as it was then), King William Street and Hindley Street. It also had a tramline run through it when it was still part of Rundle Street.

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