The original shareholders of

Adelaide Arcade Pty Ltd were:

Saul Solomon

Lewis Henry Berens

Joachim Matthias Wendt

Robert Carr Castle

Hermann Koeppon Carl Wendt

Emanuel Cohen

Patrick Gay

The site is two acres deep and the original promenade between the shops was 24 feet wide and composed of Carrara marble and black and white encaustic tiles formed in elegant designs. The elevations to both Rundle and Grenfell Streets were carried out in the Italian style of architecture. All the plate glass was imported from England. Elsewhere colonial materials were used as far as possible. The walls were constructed of bricks from the Metropolitan Company, with Portland cement. The slabs at the entrance were of Kapunda marble, the largest the company could supply.

Adelaide and Gays Arcades are fine examples of the 1880’s boom period. They are testimony to the period during which Rundle Street was transformed into a retail area of great renown.

Other significant 19th century shopping establishments have been either greatly altered or lost. Myer’s old building was much altered and demolished to make way for the Myer Centre and the old Birks building was demolished to be replaced by David Jones. Adelaide Arcade ranks with The Strand Arcade (1892) in Sydney and The Block Arcade (1894) in Melbourne as examples of the most urbane approach to retailing devised up to the time. The design of Adelaide Arcade was by Withall & Wells and is the most important piece of their work to survive. Their schemes included Charles Birks, The Jubilee Exhibition Building and The Adelaide Club Racing stand.