QBV and Pitt Street Mall

Have you ever imagined having a great shopping experience inside a palace? Well, just imagine you’re walking inside a carpeted shopping centre, buying yourself luxurious stuff in lavish boutiques and having a cup of tea inside a palace. Apparently, that’s Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia!

According to the QVB website, The Queen Victoria Building which has now been famously known as the QVB, was designed by George McRae, and completed in 1898, replaced the initial Sydney markets.

Moreover, this had been built as a token to the English monarch that’s been the longest reigning. And the QVB construction had taken place in depressing times in which Sydney had been in a severe recession.

Specifically planned for the extravagant building, this Romanesque architectural design is intended to allow the government employ many unemployed craftsmen like stonemasons, plasterers, and artists in a well spent time and effort project.

Initially, QVB was intended to be concert hall, cafes, office spaces, warehouses, showrooms, as well as shops for tailors, hairdressers, mercers and florists. However, many decades have passed and QBV had evolved from concert hall to be the city’s library. And many offices had occupied and more tenants had since moved in. Abrupt remodelling had occurred during the 1930s. And it made the Sydney City Council to be the main occupant.

Furthermore, interesting and exceptional attractions and exhibitions have been present all throughout QVB. Among them are the portraits of the Queen, as well as a letter from Queen Elizabeth II for the Sydneysiders only yet to be opened and read by Sydney’s Lord Mayor in the year 2085. QVB on the outside and on the Town Hall Place which is facing Town Hall, are the Queen Victoria’s statue along with the Royal Wishing Well.

Nowadays, QVB has been a magnificent shopping centre where the top-of-the-line stores have been sitting. You can shop, have a cup of tea, and walk around the carpeted hallways and enjoy the day with your family and friends, experiencing Victorian era in today’s life.

In the Sydney CBD, there is this section of Pitt Street that has been pedestrianised due to having so much foot traffic. It’s the Pitt Street Mall, a shopping area that runs between Market and King Street. Pitt Street Mall is Australia’s busiest block where the most cosmopolitan shopping precinct sits. Because of that, it’s floor space rental properties are the most expensive Australia-wide. In fact, its rental prices have been the fifth-highest in the world.

Pitt Street Mall used to be a vehicular street, but this Shopping centre had been closed off to public and private vehicles passing along in the 1990s, and eventually became a pedestrianised street mall. Extensive upgrades to the Pitt Street Mall’s pedestrian area had $10m-facelift during the year 2010-11. The provision of awesome seating area, including fantastic pavers, as well as catenary lighting system had also been included in this refurbishment.

Pitt Street had been home to a number of prominent Australian businesses’ flagship stores. And there are four shopping centres, structures and arcades that are all located in Pitt Street Mall.

One of the biggest shopping centres in Australia, Westfield Sydney opened its doors to shoppers in various stages in 2010. Westfield Sydney has 353 retail shops that’s being visited by approximately 43.8 million people annually. Next is The Strand Arcade, opened in 1891, had been the last remaining Victorian arcade in Sydney’s central business district. The Strand Arcade has 76 retailer shops that include designer boutiques. This arcade is being visited by an estimated 5.4 million customers annually. Another one is the MidCity Centre, which opened its doors in 2010, has 4 levels of shopping area that has 23 retailers. And finally, a small arcade which is at the north end of the Pitt Street Mall is the Sydney Arcade.

What's your ultimate posh shopping experience? Let us know by visiting our page at filosydneysider.com