GSA Guide - Queen Street Mall Claimed

Originally a busy city street a section of Queen Street was turned into a pedestrian mall in 1982 as part of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games. The Mall was redeveloped in 2000 with new structures and Australian granite and gabbro paving.

History: 

Queen Street has always been one of the busiest streets in Brisbane. The old converted convict barracks were used for the first sitting of the Parliament of Queensland in May 1860.

The first Town Hall, The General Post Office and the first bank were all located in this street. In later years Queen Street was the site of the important shopping and trading locations, with the large department stores of Myer and David Jones as well as restaurants and cinemas.

Tram services along Queen Street were converted to buses on 14 April 1969. Traffic was still running on Queen Street until 1982, when the section between Albert and Edward Streets was turned into a pedestrian mall, as part of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

The Mall was designed with the aim of bringing more people into the city center. The first section was between Albert and Edward Streets and it was extended to George Street for World Expo in