ARCADES PROJECT

Strand Arcade is the last survivor of the original five Victorian arcades in Sydney. It opened in April 1892, and has had a few renovations since then so there are not many original features left but even recent refurbishments have done a good job keeping the overall vintage look to this splendid arcade.

It is buzzing, too, partly due to the two excellent coffee shops which spill out into the arcade walkway, meaning there is always the hum of cheery conversation and a sense of high footfall.

But it is not just good coffee that draws people in. The arcade has a fabulous range of shops over its three storeys (plus a 4^th floor of offices), with the Strand hatters catching the eye at one end and the Strandbag company at the other end (I believe the oldest tenant, approaching its centenary in a couple of years).

I loved the nut shop, which could do more to sell its own story, having been set up in 1939 by Jewish refugees from Austria, whose family still own the store today, and look closely and you will find their original product ‘Viennese chocolate almonds,’ though they have diversified somewhat these days.

Upstairs is a marvellous range of artisans, from the bespoke shirt-makers (watch them at work from the first floor balcony), the shoemakers (also hammering away on their individual creations), and seamstress making bridal dresses and accessories.

I was lucky enough to meet Jennifer, the concierge on duty when I dropped by the Strand. She is as big an arcade lover as me, and revels in the good arcade stories; and she knows her own arcade well. She said the arcade always had a focus on the rag trade, so the shoe, shirt and dress makers are all fitting in with the traditions of this arcade going back over 130 years now.

I loved the message over the Pitt Street entrance to the Strand: “The proprietors of the Strand Arcade invite you to promenade within the elegant tradition of fashionable shopping available on the 4 floors of the Strand Arcade.”

And it is definitely worth checking out the upper floors, partly for a different view over the crowds below and the glass ceiling above, but also just to watch for a moment those skilled craftspeople at their work.

My pick of the arcade’s past

‘Ill-bred young fellows congregated’ around the entrance to the Arcade, with ‘respectable women insulted, sometimes molested,’ according to the newspapers of the day. With police deployed to Broken Hill, there was increased lawlessness in Sydney, and one paper reported in September 1892 that a ‘mob took possession of the Strand Arcade’ for a while, preventing any shop from doing business.

In 1893 a Mrs Ruppert was doing a brisk trade selling her potions to improve complexions, with men as well as women buying up from her shop in the Strand Arcade. Others tried to jump onto the make-up band wagon, but fell foul of the law: one Isabella Shaw being fined £10 for basically selling a poison as a ‘complexion mixture,’ which corroded the skin.

It was customary on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve for large crowds to gather in the arcades around the centre of Sydney, and the Strand Arcade was often the busiest. Some years trams were unable to pass due to the throng trying to gain access to the arcade, and if you made it inside the gates of the arcade, there was no chance of browsing in shop windows as you were forced to be carried along by the slow movement of the crowd. 54C was recorded (130F) inside the Strand Arcade during a New Year’s Eve heatwave in 1904.

Sources for the above stories all taken from the National Library of Australia press archive database at www.trove.nla.gov.au

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen the arcade in any films or books?

This arcade in films or books

There were scenes in the 1930 Australian silent movie The Cheaters filmed in Strand Arcade. Also parts of David Bowie’s video for his hit Let’s Dance were filmed here.

Is there a website for this arcade?

Yes, Strand Arcade in Sydney has an excellent website, the link for which is here.