Adelaide city centre

The layout of Adelaide, sometimes referred to as "Light's Vision", features a cardinal direction grid pattern of wide streets and terraces and five large public squares: Victoria Square in the centre of the city, and Hindmarsh, Light, Hurtle and Whitmore Squares in the centres of each of the four quadrants of the Adelaide city centre. These squares occupy 32 of the 700 numbered "town acre" allotments on Light's plan.

All east–west roads change their names as they cross King William Street, except for North and South terraces.[5] They also alternate between being wide and narrow, 99 and 66 feet (30 and 20 m), except for the central Grote and Wakefield which are extra-wide, 132 feet (40 m),[6] along with the surrounding four terraces.[7] In the south half of the city, in several places the Adelaide City Council has constructed wide footpaths and road markings to restrict traffic to a lesser number of lanes than the full width of the road could support.

The street pairs, design widths, and town acres in Light's Vision are illustrated in this diagram:

Architectural detail of the former Adelaide General Post Office on King William Street

The streets and squares were named by a committee of a number of prominent settlers after themselves, after early directors of the South Australian Company, after Colonisation Commissioners of South Australia (appointed by the British government to oversee implementation of the acts that established the colony), and after various notables involved in the establishment of the colony.

The Street Naming Committee comprised:[8]

All members of the committee (except Stephens) had one or more of the streets and squares in the Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide named after themselves. Brown Street, named for John Brown, was subsequently subsumed as a continuation of Morphett Street in 1967. In the same year, Hanson Street, named for Richard Hanson, was subsumed as a continuation of Pulteney Street.

The squares were named after:

• Victoria - the regent, Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria
• Hindmarsh - Rear Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh, first Governor of South Australia
• Hurtle - Sir James Hurtle Fisher, first Resident Commissioner
• Light - Colonel William Light, Surveor General
• Whitmore - William Wolryche-Whitmore MP, a Colonial Commissioner in London

The east–west streets named on 22 December 1836 were:[11]

• Rundle – John Rundle MP, Director of the South Australian Company
• Hindley – Charles Hindley MP, Director of South Australian Company
• Grenfell – Pascoe St Leger Grenfell MP, presented town acre for Holy Trinity Church and other country lands
• Currie – Raikes Currie MP, Director of South Australian Company
• Pirie – Sir John Pirie, alderman and later Lord Mayor of London, Director of South Australian Company
• Waymouth – Henry Waymouth, Director South Australian Company
• Flinders – Matthew Flinders, explorer
• Franklin – Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin, midshipman under Flinders
• Wakefield – Daniel Bell Wakefield, barrister who drafted the South Australia Act[12]
• Grote – George Grote MP, treasurer of the South Australia Association
• Angas – George Fife Angas, a Colonial Commissioner and founding Chairman of Directors of the South Australian Company
• Gouger – Robert Gouger, first Colonial Secretary

Most of these people did not reside in or visit South Australia.

The naming of the streets was completed on 23 May 1837[8] and gazetted on 3 June.[13]

East–west streets:

• Carrington - John Abel Smith (Lord Carrington)
• Wright - John Wright, Colonial Commissioner and financier[14]
• Halifax - Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Sturt - Charles Sturt, explorer
• Gilles - Osmond Gilles, early treasurer of the colony
• Gilbert - Thomas Gilbert, storekeeper and postmaster[14]

North–south streets:

• Morphett - John Morphett, member of the South Australian parliament
• Pulteney - Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm, British naval officer
• Hutt - William Hutt MP, a Colonial Commissioner

The Adelaide City Council began the process of dual naming all of the city squares, each of the parks making up the parklands which surround the city centre and North Adelaide, and other sites of significance to the Kaurna people in 1997.[15] The naming process, which assigned an extra name in the Kaurna language to each place, was mostly completed in 2003,[16] and the renaming of 39 sites finalised and endorsed by the council in 2012.[17]

• Victoria Square - Tarntanyangga ('red kangaroo dreaming')
• Hindmarsh Square - Mukata
• Hurtle Square - Tangkaira
• Light Square - Wauwi
• Whitmore Square - Iparrityi

The Lion Arts Centre, an iconic live music and performance venue in Adelaide's West End.

The City of Adelaide Council has defined a number of neighbourhood precincts in the city centre, each with a character of their own:

• The East End, centering on Rundle Street - known for its restaurants, bars, high-end fashion shops, the Palace Nova Cinema;[18]
• The West End, from the western end of North Terrace and encompassing several blocks southward, which includes UniSA "CityWest" campus, the Samstag Museum of Art, JamFactory, Lion Arts Centre, Mercury Cinema, numerous bars, clubs and restaurants, and "BioMed City";[19]
• The South East of the city, largely residential, but including many cafés, restaurants, pubs, etc.;[20] and
• The South West is very diverse; largely residential and including the Adelaide Central Market[20]

In addition to these, the north-eastern side of North Terrace is often referred to as the "North Terrace cultural precinct" or "cultural boulevard", and includes the Art Gallery of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, the Migration Museum, the Adelaide Botanic Garden, the University of Adelaide and the "CityEast" campus of the UniSA[21]