Defining the northern edge of Adelaide’s grid-patterned CBD, North Terrace houses some of the city’s most impressive institutions and historic architecture. It stretches between West and East Terrace, with the River Torrens and Adelaide Parklands sprawling to its north and dividing the city from the suburb of North Adelaide.
North Terrace’s grand public buildings include the South Australian Museum, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Museum of Classical Archaeology, Government House and the University of Adelaide along its eastern stretch. To the west lies the Adelaide Casino and Adelaide Train Station, together with the Adelaide Convention Centre and the Parliament of South Australia, while King William Road carves through its middle. The Royal Adelaide Hospital has resided in the far northeastern corner of North Terrace since 1856 alongside the Botanic Gardens, but its new complex is located along the street’s western stretch and is to date the most expensive hospital ever built in the world. The South Australian Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia stand side by side and are among Adelaide’s most visited sights, with the museum renowned for its giant squid which occupies multiple stories and the gallery housing a diverse collection of colonial art and modern Australian works, set within a magnificent collonaded building. Elder Hall’s Florentine Gothic style architecture is also of note, forming part of the city’s Conservatorium of Music and dating back to 1898. Just to the west of the museum lies the National War Memorial, commemorating those who fought in the first World War, while the Migration Museum is tucked in behind, tracing the city’s multicultural roots.
North Terrace is served by Adelaide’s train station, in addition to the historic trams which stop along its western stretch. It’s situated just one block north from the shopping strip of Rundle Mall, and the dining and nightlife scene of Rundle Street.
North Terrace was identified as a "cultural boulevard" in Colonel William Light’s 1837 plan for the city, with the northern edge reserved for public buildings and the south divided into 15 “town hectares”. Many of these were sold in England before the area was settled and by the 1880s many of the prominent public buildings had been erected, with all but one of these remaining today.