King William Street, Adelaide

King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide (the capital of South Australia).^[1] It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month.^[2] King William Street is 132 feet (40 m) wide, and is the widest main street of all the Australian State capital cities.

Contents 1 Glenelg Tram 2 King William Road 3 Historical photographs 4 Name changes on streets crossing King William Street 5 References

Glenelg Tram

The Glenelg Tram runs the entire length of the street, with the northern end of the line continuing along North Terrace to the Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh and the southern end continuing off road to Glenelg.

King William Road

The name King William is applied several times to the continuous stretch of road that begins in the inner southern suburbs and terminates in North Adelaide. Where it runs through the Adelaide city centre, it is named "King William Street"; elsewhere it is named "King William Road". It starts in the south as King William Road, just within Unley Park and runs through Hyde Park and Unley. It runs through, the south parklands (as Peacock Road), the Adelaide CBD (King William Street) and continues north from North Terrace as King William Road to Brougham Place, North Adelaide. The road continues north but the name King William is not again used. The northern section called King William Road (connecting the Adelaide CBD with North Adelaide) passes several of Adelaide's landmarks, including Government House, Elder Park, the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Oval and St Peter's Cathedral.

Historical photographs

Name changes on streets crossing King William Street

Between North Terrace and South Terrace, all east-west roads change their names as they cross King William Street. It is said this is because no one is allowed to cross the path of a monarch.^[2] Also, travelling north-south, the cross-streets alternate between being wide (4-lanes) and narrow (2-lanes).

Travelling south from North Terrace, the street pairs are:^[3]

West Terrace ↓		Morphett Street ↓		King William Street ↓		Pulteney Street ↓		East Terrace ↓	Width
	North Terrace		North Terrace		North Terrace		North Terrace		4-lane
	Hindley Street		Hindley Street		Rundle Mall		Rundle Street		2-lane
	Currie Street	Light Square	Currie Street		Grenfell Street	Hindmarsh Square	Grenfell Street		4-lane
	Waymouth Street	Light Square	Waymouth Street		Pirie Street	Hindmarsh Square	Pirie Street		2-lane
	Franklin Street		Franklin Street	Victoria Square	Flinders Street		Flinders Street		4-lane
	Grote Street		Grote Street	Victoria Square	Wakefield Street		Wakefield Street		4-lane
	Gouger Street		Gouger Street	Victoria Square	Angas Street		Angas Street		4-lane
	Wright Street	Whitmore Square	Wright Street		Carrington Street	Hurtle Square	Carrington Street		2-lane
	Sturt Street	Whitmore Square	Sturt Street		Halifax Street	Hurtle Square	Halifax Street		4-lane
	Gilbert Street		Gilbert Street		Gilles Street		Gilles Street		2-lane
	South Terrace		South Terrace		South Terrace		South Terrace		4-lane

References

Streets & squares of Adelaide city centre     North-South Streets (W→E) West Terrace Morphett Street King William Pulteney Street Hutt Street East Terrace Squares (geographically arranged) Light Square Whitmore Square Victoria Square Hindmarsh Square Hurtle Square   East- West Streets (N↓S) North Terrace Hindley ~ Rundle Mall/Street Currie ~ Grenfell Waymouth ~ Pirie Franklin ~ Flinders Grote ~ Wakefield Gouger ~ Angas Wright ~ Carrington Sturt ~ Halifax Gilbert ~ Gilles South Terrace