| Type: | street |
| Road Name: | George Street |
| City: | Brisbane |
| State: | qld |
| Coordinates A: | -27.4705°N 153.0231°W |
George Street is a major street located in the Brisbane CBD in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
George Street extends from the Queensland University of Technology's Garden Point campus and City Botanic Gardens at its south-east end, through the commercial centre of Brisbane (Queen Street and Queen Street Mall), through to Roma Street railway station at its north-west end .
The State Parliament House building for the state of Queensland and Brisbane Square, as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law and the State Law Building are found on the street. Queens Gardens, Treasury Building, Lands Administration Building and The Mansions are all located on George Street. Other office towers built on George Street include 111 George Street, 275 George Street and 400 George Street. At the northern end is the Roma Street railway station.
George Street as well as Queen Street, Wickham Street and the area known as Petrie Bight were unsealed and often dusty before 1899.[1] In 1897, the North Brisbane Council held an election on whether a loan should be raised so the streets could be woodblocked. Agreement was given after a close decision by only a third of registered voters, however the results were limited as the surface was very slippery during the rain and buckled during heavy rains.[1]
The first private residence in Brisbane, a weatherboard, low-ceilinged cottage, was built on George Street.[2] The building remained intact into the 1880s but like similar early houses in the central business district they have been demolished and the land redeveloped.[2] In 1867, the Menzies Private Hotel was established at 28 George Street (corner of Margaret Street and adjacent to the Queensland Club).[3] It was refurbished and re-opened as the Kingsley Private Hotel in July 1922.[4] It has since been demolished.
The Bellevue Hotel opened on the western corner of George and Alice Streets . It served for many years as Brisbane's premier hotel. Without any prior public announcement, the Queensland Government demolished the building overnight on 20 April 1979.[5]
In 1911, Queensland belatedly established its first university, the University of Queensland, in the Old Government House at the end of George Street.[6] By the late 1930s, the university outgrew this site, moving its main campus to St Lucia after World War II.[7] On Friday 17 July 1970, a faulty fuse in a traffic light created a spark that ignited a leaking gas pipe running through the basements of several George Street buildings (between Queen Street and Adelaide Street) which caused a series of explosions, killing one woman and injuring 38 other people. The damage to buildings in George Street and neighbouring streets as well as roads and other infrastructure was estimated at $500,000.[8] [9] [10] [11]
George Street has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The Queen's Wharf development of an entertainment precinct will be bounded by Queen Street, George Street, Alice Street and the Brisbane River (including all of William Street).[29] All of the non-heritage buildings on the site will be demolished.