Crown Street, Wollongong
Encyclopedia
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
It was created in the early 19th century from a cattle track which follows a ridge from Mount Keira
Mount Keira
Mount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
to the first farm house in the area, and quickly became the "main" street of the then town.
Today Crown Street is the main arterial route through Wollongong from the southern suburbs to the north east. Along its route it features Wollongong Hospital, the Piccadilly Centre, Wollongong railway station
Wollongong railway station, New South Wales
Wollongong Station is a railway station on the South Coast Line of the CityRail outer suburban network, serving the central business district of the Illawarra region's major centre of Wollongong....
, and the now-abandoned PMG building. Crown Street has also now become a major shopping district after being partially converted into a mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
in the mid 1980s.
Crown Street Mall
The pedestrian-only zone of Crown Street Mall stretches from the corner of Crown and Keira Streets in the west to the corner of Crown and Kembla Streets in the east - these cross streets being named after the local mountains Mount KeiraMount Keira
Mount Keira is a 464 metre high mountain lying 4 kilometres northwest of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of...
and Mount Kembla
Mount Kembla
Mount Kembla is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, as well a semi-rural township of Wollongong, which gets its name from the mountain.Kembla is an Aboriginal word meaning "plenty of game"....
respectively. The mall had originally included two distinctive archways as well as several fountains and architectural features, however the archways in on the junction of Crown and Keira Streets have since been demolished to make room for a pedestrian bridge. There is currently a revitalisation scheme under way and possible options include converting this area to al fresco dining for night shoppers and opening it to slow moving traffic.
The two main buildings are Crown Tower and Gateway. They both started in the 1970s as independent shopping centres but are now joined as Wollongong Central
Wollongong Central
Wollongong Central is a major shopping centre in the Illawarra region, located in the CBD of Wollongong, approximately 90 kilometres south of Sydney. It is operated and managed by Australian property investment company, General Property Trust . It is of local importance and is used by much of the...
. Gateway used to have a food court but this was replaced by a medical centre in the early 21st century.
The council has announced that the mall will go through a major facelift beginning in early 2012.
The mall & Crown Central (now Wollongong Central, formerly Gateway) include the following shops and centres:
- David JonesDavid Jones LimitedDavid Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...
department store - MyerMyerMyer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...
department store - Angus and Robertson books
- Harrison's Chemists
- Tramps Menswear
- McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
- Sanity MusicSanity (music store)Sanity is an Australian chain of music and entertainment stores, owned by Ray Itaoui, CEO. Sanity has over 155 outlets in Australia. The brand specialises in the sale of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray video games and related merchandise and accessories.-History:...
- Surf Dive 'n' Ski
- JayJays
- Gloria Jeans
- Rebel Sport
- Wendy's Supa Sundaes
- Lowes
- GlossGlossA gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
- Temt
- Just JeansJust JeansJust Jeans is an Australian apparel chain store, owned and operated by the Just Group. The Just Group owns and operates Portmans, Jaquie E, Jay Jays, Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Smiggle and Dotti store brands, and currently has over 950 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand.-Profile:Just...
- The Rock Factory
- Redback Music
- The Body ShopThe Body ShopThe Body Shop International plc, known as The Body Shop, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following O Boticario, a Brazilian company...
- Best and LessBest and LessBest & Less Pty Ltd is an Australian retailer of clothing and household linens.-History:Best & Less was founded by Berel Ginges, and opened its first store in Mascot, New South Wales on 27 May 1965.In April 1998, Best & Less was acquired by Pepkor...
- JB Hi-FiJB Hi-FiJB Hi-Fi is an Australian CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc, video game and consumer electronics chain store.-History:JB Hi-Fi was established in Melbourne suburb of Keilor East by John Barbuto in 1974...
- Uncle Pete's Toys
- Williams The Shoemen
- EB GamesEB Games AustraliaEB Games Australia is an Australian video game and entertainment software retailer. Headquartered in Pinkenba, Queensland . The company operates over 380 stores across Australia's seven states and territories and 30 more stores in New Zealand. EB Games Australia is part of the GameStop Corporation...
- Chica Booti
Each Friday the lower mall area is converted into a local market.