The main shopping thoroughfare is
Commercial Street, which forms part of the north–south axis of High Street, Commercial Street and Commercial Road, linking the heart of the city with
Newport Docks. The streets were laid-out in 1807 by Sir
Charles Morgan's Tredegar Wharf Company to connect the expanding docks with the main roads in the centre. The area between Commercial Street and the river used to contain a mixture of railway lines and river wharves so the street pattern in this area was never fixed. On the removal of the railway lines and wharves in the 1960s the large
John Frost Square (1977) and
Kingsway Shopping Centre were built, close to
Newport bus station. This area has been redeveloped to provide the
Friars Walk shopping and leisure complex which was opened in November 2015. As part of this redevelopment, the
Chartist Mural was destroyed. Towards the northern end of Newport city centre is Westgate Square, named after the
Westgate Hotel. Here, the five roads of Commercial Street, Stow Hill, Bridge Street,
High Street and Skinner Street converge. This is generally regarded as the centre although the actual centre, as measured on road signs, is further up Bridge Street outside the Queen's Hotel where most
OS maps pin point the centre. On Upper Dock Street is the Chartist Tower, a 15-storey office block, built in 1966 and the tallest building in Newport. It features a secure underground car park. Radio transmitters and mobile phone masts are situated on the roof. During the
2014 NATO summit a security forces command and control team was housed temporarily in the building, with the top floor and roof being used as an observation post. In 2017 the building was sold as party of a £6.5M deal and has now been developed into a 163-bed
Mercure hotel. From Bridge Street, the two roads of High Street and Cambrian Road run in parallel towards
Newport railway station. Joining the two roads is the covered
Victorian Newport Arcade. At the western end of the arcade is the Cambrian Centre which is being redeveloped. To the east of High Street is
Newport Market, a Grade II-
listed building. Kingsway/Usk Way is a boulevard on the west bank of the River Usk linking Newport Castle the
Riverfront Theatre and the
University of South Wales to the western ends of
City Bridge and
Newport Transporter Bridge. The city centre is currently being expanded to include areas on the east bank. The area between
Newport Bridge and George Street Bridge is included in the
Newport Unlimited master plan as a new high-density combined commercial and residential area, joined to the west bank by
Newport City footbridge. The plan shows a strong urban form along the riverfront, emphasised with tall landmark buildings. The city's major sports stadium, at
Rodney Parade on the east bank of the
River Usk, is a short walk from the city centre via
Newport Bridge or
Newport City footbridge. ==Business==