The Queens Arcade () is a
shopping centre
A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
city centre. It opened on 28 April 1994.
History
Developed on the site of the Allders department store and the similarly named Queen Street Arcade, the main entrance is located on Queen Street, and the second entrance faces Working Street near
Cardiff Central Market.
The arcade has two levels, and is unusual in that the levels are sloped, so that despite its two entrances being on the same level the upper floor at the Working Street entrance is the ground floor at Queen Street. The centre internally connects with the
St David's Centre.
The arcade recorded 11.2m annual footfall in 2012 and is anchored by
New Look,
Argos,
Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons Inc., known colloquially as Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, Doughnut, donuts, sandwiches, Breakfast sandwich, breakfast egg mu ...
and
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
. Four of its stores –
Argos, Christopher George,
F. Hinds and
Whittard of Chelsea – have been in the centre from its launch and others from the opening year line-up have changed their company names – such as Cookie Jar, now
Millie's Cookies, and Partners, now
Ryman. By 2016 it had a 10 million annual footfall.
It was put up for sale in 2016 for £33 million.
It was proposed to be demolished in plans in 2021. In February 2023, the centre was put into
receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
.
In popular culture
The original architecture was inspired by the many late 19th-century arcades of Cardiff city centre and has appeared as the backdrop for various TV programmes, including the 2005 ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' story "
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
", starring
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
and
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010).
She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...
, which was set in London.
See also
*
List of shopping arcades in Cardiff
External links
*
*
References
{{Economy and Industry of Cardiff
Shopping arcades in Cardiff
Buildings and structures completed in 1994
Castle, Cardiff
1994 establishments in Wales