Pitt Street

History

Pitt Street was originally named Pitt Row, and is one of the earliest named streets in Sydney. Pitt Street is believed to have been named by Governor Arthur Phillip in honour of William Pitt the Younger, at the time, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. In 1853, Pitt Street was extended north from Hunter Street to Circular Quay.

Pitt Street was previously a one-way street in a southerly direction from Circular Quay to Campbell Street. In preparation for the construction of the Pitt Street Mall, in February 1987 the sections between Hunter Street and Martin Place, and Martin Place and King Street were converted to two-way cul de sacs to allow the Martin Place plaza to be extended. This was later reverted and today the Circular Quay to King Street section is one-way throughout in a southerly direction. From Goulburn Street to Park Street was converted to become one-way in a northerly direction. The Market Street to Park Street section initially remained as a southbound street, but was later converted to run northbound. The Goulburn Street to Campbell Street section was converted to two-way.

Five weeks after it opened, half of the original Pitt Street Mall length was closed as a pedestrian mall with vehicles reintroduced due to concerns of higher vehicle traffic on George Street. Vehicles were re-introduced between King Street and Hunter Street on March 28th 1987. The NRMA supported this as they believed it would relieve traffic congestion. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251023231322/https://smharchives.smedia.com.au/Olive/APA/smharchive/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=SMH%2F1987%2F03%2F17&id=Ar00202&sk=8954DA0B&viewMode=image |archive-date=2025-10-23

Tram line

The Circular Quay to Central station line was an important part of the Sydney tram network. It was an extremely busy service for passengers transferring from suburban trains, particularly prior to the opening of the City Circle underground railway line in 1926. Trams operated in a loop from Central station, running north along Pitt Street to Circular Quay returning south via Castlereagh Street. These tracks were also used by some eastern and south-western routes during busy periods. The line closed on 27 September 1957 with four tram services replaced with buses and three others diverted to operate via Elizabeth Street. The line made use of the sandstone viaduct onto the colonnade above Eddy Avenue at Central station, which since 1997 has formed part of the Inner West Light Rail.

Heritage-listed properties

The following properties, located on or adjacent to Pitt Street, are listed on various national, state, and/or local government heritage registers:

• Bulletin Place warehouses, on Bulletin Place, between Pitt Street and Macquarie Place
• Commonwealth Trading Bank Building
• Kings Hotel
• Pitt Street Uniting Church
• Soul Pattinson Building
• The Strand Arcade
• Sydney School of Arts building
• Former Sydney Water Head Office
• The Sydney Club
• Wales House, now part of the Radisson Blu hotel chain

Pitt Street Cycleway

During the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 the City of Sydney installed a "pop up" (or temporary) cycleway on Pitt Street. This cycleway was the busiest of all the pop up cycleways installed, with an average of 4430 weekly trips.

In March 2021 the city announced the cycleway would become permanent. It now connects to the King Street cycleway at the south end.

Gallery

File:The first Tramways Dated c. 10 1 1880 Depot at Pitt Street.jpg|Sydney's first Tramways depot, corner of Pitt Street and what was then Gipps St West and Garden Road, looking SE across the Old Cemeteries towards . Eddy Avenue roughly follows Garden Road, . File:(1) City Tattersals Club.JPG|City Tattersalls Club File:The Sydney Club, 122 Pitt Street.jpg|The Sydney Club File:(1) Pitt Street (a).JPG|Building in Italianate style File:(1) Pitt Street (d).JPG|Restored 1903 building File:Pitt Street Mall, 2014.jpg|Pitt Street Mall from King Street looking south File:Pitt Street, Sydney, looking south from The Powerhouse Museum Collection.jpg|Looking south c. 1900 File:1 Pitt and Hunter002.jpg|Archival image of Pitt and Hunter Streets, showing Wales House File:(1)Pitt St Uniting Church-5.jpg|Pitt Street Uniting Church interior File:Building labourer on a stone being hoisted up to building, Pitt St, Sydney, c. 1930s, by Sam Hood (4441498235).jpg|Building labourer on a stone being hoisted up to building, Pitt St, Sydney, c. 1930s. Photo by Sam Hood. File:(1)Pitt St Uniting Church-4.jpg|Pitt Street Uniting Church

References

References

1. (1 July 1920). "NOTES AND ANECDOTES ABOUT OLD PITT STREET: FROM ONE OfIr.C. H. BERTIE'S ARRESTING ARTICLES". [[The Catholic Weekly.
2. Reed, A. W.. (1973). "Place Names of Australia". Reed Books.
3. City of Sydney, [http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/aboutsydney/historyandarchives/SydneyHistory/StreetNames.asp Street Names] 22 May 2009
4. Changes to City Plan Effective February 8, 1987 ''[[Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Daily Telegraph]]'' 27 January 1987 page 15
5. Work starts on new park street ''[[The Sun-Herald]]'' 8 February 1987 page 23
6. Pitt Street mall ''[[Transit Australia]]'' May 1987 page 90
7. New Details of Sunday's CHange-over to Buses in Sydney ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'' 27 September 1957 page 4
8. Buses Replace Trams in Two Sydney Streets ''[[Truck & Bus Transportation]]'' November 1957 page 46
9. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045669. Bulletin Place Restaurant
10. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045674. Building
11. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045084. Warehouse (former)
12. {{cite AHD. 1837. Commonwealth Trading Bank Building, 108-120 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW, Australia
13. {{cite NSW HD. 2423842. Former "Commonwealth Bank of Australia Building" including interiors
14. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045576. Sugar House
15. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045476. Pitt Street Uniting Church
16. {{Cite NSW HD. 2424035. Former "Phoenix Chambers" and Soul Pattinson Store Including Interior
17. {{cite NSW SHR. 5050662. Strand Arcade
18. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045541. Sydney School of Arts
19. {{cite NSW SHR. 5053884. Sydney Water Head Office (former) (1939 building)
20. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045601. Sydney Club
21. {{cite NSW SHR. 5045090. Wales House
22. (n.d.). "Gallery". [[Radisson Hotels]].
23. Thompson, Nigel Gladstone, Angus. (2021-05-07). "Sydney’s most popular pop-up bike path overtakes city’s busiest".
24. "Pitt Street leads the way with plans for a permanent cycleway {{!}} City of Sydney - News".
25. "Map of the city of Sydney, New South Wales". [[National Library of Australia]].