King William Street, Adelaide

King William Street was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month. It is historically considered one of Adelaide's high streets, for its focal point of businesses, shops and other prominent establishments. In August 1977, the first bus lane in Adelaide opened along King William Street from Victoria Square to North Terrace. ==Description==

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 from South Terrace to North Terrace, it is named "King William Street"; elsewhere it is named "King William Road". It starts in the south as King William Road, at the north edge of Heywood Park in Unley Park, and runs through Hyde Park and Unley to Greenhill Road. Through the Adelaide city centre it is King William Street and continues north from North Terrace as King William Road to Brougham Place, North Adelaide. building on the right has since been demolished, as have the two buildings next to it. Until the 1960s, trams used King William Street as a major backbone of the network, with a grand union junction at North Terrace and only one pair of tracks missing between Grenfell and Currie Streets. When most of the tram lines were dismantled in the 1950s, only the Glenelg tram line remained, and it used King William Street between South Terrace and its terminus at Victoria Square. In 2007, the tram line was extended to run the full length of King William Street again, turning left onto North Terrace and terminating at Adelaide railway station, later extended westwards via Port Road to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. In 2018, another expansion of the tram routes replaced the turn at the intersection of North Terrace and King William Street with a junction, and a short spur to a stop outside the Adelaide Festival Centre as well as an eastward extension along North Terrace to the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Tracks go in all four directions, but not all turning movements are supported. ==Historic buildings==

King's Theatre / Ballroom The King's Theatre, at no. 318, was designed by the brothers-in-law David Williams (1856–1940) and Charles Thomas Good (1864–1926), who, working in their practice Williams & Good, also designed the New Tivoli Theatre (later Her Majesty's. The theatre was located on the north-east corner of King William and Carrington Streets, with main entrances on both, opened in February 1911 and closed in 1928. It had a seating capacity of 1500, on seats upholstered in blue velvet. Its proscenium arch was by . Intended mainly for vaudeville performances, the theatre was however reported to be a poor venue, "plagued by poor sightlines and inadequate ventilation". Adelaide Repertory Theatre staged at least two performances there, in 1919. The ceiling and other features of the theatre were damaged by fire on 26 September 1927. The theatre was sold by Majestic Amusements (who had bought it from Fuller Theatres Ltd) in February 1928 to Mr P. J. A. Lawrence, (also referred to as the King's Theatre Ballroom, and Golden Ballroom). With its entrance in Carrington Street, the ballroom was open to "suitably attired" members of the public each Wednesday and Saturday night, and competitions were held there. A serious fire forced closure in 1975, after which it remained vacant for several years, eventually being transformed into legal offices in the 1980s. Majestic / Warner Theatre The building at 100 King William Street owned by City Projects Pty Ltd from 1969. ''Don's Party in 1975, and The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1977. The theatre finally closed on 31 March 1979. facade of Sands & McDougall building, no. 64 Sands & McDougall building The facade of the Sands & McDougall Printers and Stationers building at 64 King William Street, Adelaide is an excellent early example of Art Deco architecture in South Australia. The facade of the 19th-century neoclassical building was redesigned in 1933, and was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register in December 2020. ==Junctions and street name changes==

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 was allowed to "cross the path of a monarch". ==In popular culture==

King William Road was referenced in the John Schumann song "Hyde Park Calling (King William Road Scene 1)" on the 1993 album True Believers. ==Gallery==

File:Waterhouse Chambers (1847) opp. Beehive Corner, Cnr King William & Rundle Streets, 1866.jpg|The street (running left to right), 1867 File:Samuel Sweet - King William Street Adelaide, looking north from Victoria Square - Google Art Project.jpg|View from Victoria Square, 1870s Image:King_william_street,_Adelaide_1889.jpg|–1889. Town Hall on left, Post Office on right Image:King william street, Adelaide 1889 (3).jpg|Sometime between 1869 and 1889. File:King William Road, Adelaide, South Australia 1923.jpg|The street, 1923 File:Adelaide - panoramio (2).jpg|View south from Rundle Mall, 2004 File:King William Street looking south.jpg|King William Street looking south, December 2010 File:Closure for redevelopment, Rundle Mall.jpg|The intersection from King William Street, looking east towards Rundle Mall, 2013. File:Adelaide kingwilliam.jpg|King William Street between North Terrace and Currie Street, looking south-west, November 2006 File:Adelaide-city-centre.jpg|View south from the Festival Centre, before the Festival Centre tram stop was built. File:Looking south towards adelaide CBD.jpg|King William Road, North Adelaide, from the Adelaide Oval, looking south over the River Torrens towards North Terrace, King William Street and the Adelaide city centre, May 2009 File:Wet_and_Grey_(9945539375).jpg|King William Street, looking north towards St Peter's Cathedral ==See also==