Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sections after a substantial stretch of it was removed to make way for Sydney's Central railway station. Pitt Street is well known for the pedestrian only retail centre of Pitt Street Mall, a section of the street which runs from King Street to Market Street. Pitt Street is a one way from Circular Quay to Pitt Street Mall and from Pitt Street Mall to Goulburn Street, while Pitt Street Mall is for pedestrians only. It is dominated by retail and commercial office space.
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.
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 Circleunderground 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
