Stuart Street is one of the main streets ofDunedin, New Zealand. As with many of Dunedin's streets, it is named after a main street inEdinburgh,Scotland.
Stuart Street runs orthogonally to the city's main business district ofGeorge andPrinces Streets, meeting them atThe Octagon, the city's centre, where it is briefly interrupted by the Octagon itself. This divides Stuart Street into two separate streets, Upper Stuart Street and Lower Stuart Street.
Upper Stuart Street climbs steeply from the Octagon, crossingMoray Place and continuing up to pass through the city'sTown Belt and up to the suburb ofRoslyn. One of Dunedin's landmarks is theRoslyn Overbridge, which crosses Upper Stuart Street at Roslyn; shortly beyond this point Stuart Street becomes Taieri Road, the original road leading out of Dunedin toward theTaieri Plains in the hinterland to the southwest.
Until the mid 20th century, Upper Stuart Street ran from the Octagon only as far as the junction with York Place. The contract for the north-western extension of Stuart Street, incorporating the former Albert Street (which ran from York Place to London Street) and cutting through the Town Belt to Roslyn, was let in 1949.[1] These works, which were completed in 1954,[2] also required the demolition of Littlebourne House,[3] which had been gifted to the City by the children of the formerMayor, the lateSir John Roberts, in 1934.[4]
Below the Roslyn overbridge, nestled within the Town Belt, lies Dunedin's main swimming pool,Moana Pool, and the imposing structure ofOtago Boys' High School. Below this are the former buildings of theOtago Polytechnic (now located in the city's north end), including theKing Edward Technical College. Closer to The Octagon, at the junction ofMoray Place is theformer Holy Trinity Methodist Church. In the block immediately above The Octagon areSt. Paul's Anglican Cathedral and a distinctive series of historic terraced houses, now restaurants and boutique shops, which have a Category IHeritage New Zealand classification.
Lower Stuart Street, unlike Upper Stuart Street, is flat. It is one of Dunedin's more historic precincts. Within the heart of theCBD, it contains a large number of shops and cafes, and also, at its eastern end, several of Dunedin's more notable buildings. These include theDunedin Law Courts and theAllied Press building (home of theOtago Daily Times newspaper). The street is dominated by theDunedin Railway Station, which sits inAnzac Square at the foot of the street and forms aterminating vista for the street.
Numerous Stuart Street buildings are listed byHeritage New Zealand as Category I or Category II protected buildings. These buildings include the following (from northwest - Upper, to southeast - Lower):
The Robert Burns Statue inThe Octagon directly opposite the end of Upper Stuart Street, is also listed (Category I),[15] as isDunedin Railway Station, which lies in Anzac Square opposite the end of Lower Stuart Street.[16]
45°52′09″S170°29′45″E / 45.86919°S 170.49572°E /-45.86919; 170.49572