Adelaide Arcade
The property on which the Arcade was built was the scene of two disastrous fires: the first was George Debney's fine furniture factory and showrooms at 103–105 Rundle Street (parts of Section 84 and 85), which was destroyed, along with a great deal of stock and raw material, on the evening of 16 July 1855.
Without any evidence, the newspapers assumed arson ("incendiarists"), perhaps thinking of a disgruntled ex-employee, as Gay had the previous year sacked some of his work-force in response to the economic downturn, and those remaining were on short hours.
Though it was conceivable that someone in Baker & Chambers' Sturt Stables, between the rear of Gay's factory and Grenfell Street could have been responsible, there was no evidence to support arson.
All witnesses insisted Gay maintained good relations with all employees, past and present, and there was no enmity between his English and German workmen, who were on equal pay rates.
A Syndicate was formed consisting largely of Emanuel Cohen, J. M. Wendt, Patrick Gay, Saul Solomon, and L. H. Berens to erect a shopping arcade linking Rundle and Grenfell streets, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The additional twenty feet on the eastern side of the Grenfell Street entrance was occupied by a Turkish Bath complex conducted by C. Bastard and F. Needham.
The fronts of the shops and showrooms over in the arcade constructed entirely of open wood and iron framing, glazed with polished plate glass, and broken up in outline into identical bays.
[8] The elevations, similar on both Rundle and Grenfell streets, were of Italian style; the lower half dominated by the glass shop-fronts and arcade entrances, protected by verandahs supported by decorative iron columns, with a square balcony at the centre, behind which was an octagonal tower and dome, bearing an Australian coat-of-arms (not the coat of arms — Federation was still 15 years away, but the design used bore a strong resemblance to that ultimately chosen).
[9] Inside, the ceiling featured wide cornices constructed of moulded galvanized iron, and the upper cornices being surmounted by a deep cove finished with panelled soffit, returning down the cove and across the ceiling, which is broken up into a series of deeply recessed panelled bays, glazed with diapered and coloured glass.
Special attention was devoted to the lighting and ventilation, the latter provided by air tunnels and shafts connected with the towers.
Gas lamps by Strode & Co. of London were provided external to each shop for illumination in the event of generator failure, or for decorative purposes.
The fronts of these shops to be chiefly plate-glass, with light wooden frames enclosed in ornamental cast-iron work.
The roof would be of glass in metal sashes, with ample provision for ventilation, and the walkway paved with encaustic tiles, marble, and Mintaro slate.
Those gentlemen later sold it to a consortium of Charles Angel (c. 1877–1943),[21] (Malcolm Eric) Angus Scott (–1951) and Captain Johann George Arnold (c.
Television show Haunting: Australia conducted the first ever official paranormal investigation of the Adelaide Arcade in 2013.
Cluney had been deputised by the Arcade electrician H. Harcourt, who wished to visit the Jubilee Exhibition, to keep an eye on the plant but on no account to touch the machinery.
[28][29][30] Footsteps and strange sounds have also been heard within the ceiling spaces, the rooftop and the dome of the arcade – all believed to be Francis Cluney.
