Beehive Corner marks the entrance to Rundle Mall on King William Street. The building is associated with, and named after, the corner site which has been traditionally known as the Beehive Corner since the 1840s. The name was first used by Messrs Brewer and Robertson when they advertised their ‘new drapery establishment – The Beehive' in the South Australian Register of 3 October 1849. The Corner has long been a favourite meeting place in the City.

The present building, the second on the site, was built in 1894 – 96. It is a relatively rare example of commercial Gothic Revival style, constructed of load-bearing brick, finely detailed and incorporating the Beehive symbol at parapet level on the corner of the building. The design is impressive because of the scale and location of the building and the use of abstracted Gothic forms and detail, finished in stucco in combination with face brickwork.

In 1896 the Beehive Corner building was used to exhibit the first moving pictures in Adelaide, after the Theatre Royal proved an inappropriate venue. Adelaide’s first electric street lighting was installed in October 1895 at the intersection of Hindley Street, King William Street and Rundle Street while the present building was being constructed. During the Federation Royal Visit in 1901, seats on a grandstand erected on the corner sold for ten shillings each. This was because the royal couple – later to be crowned King George V and Queen Mary – would pass by them not once, but three times!

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