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Block Arcade

Block Arcade

The Block Arcade is one of Australia’s premier shopping destinations with its glass canopy and carved stone befitting its contemporary outlook.

The arcade serves as a connection point between Elizabeth Street, Collins Street and Little Collins Street in the CBD. The arcade, built in the late 19th century, was inspired by the grandiose Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Italy’s most populous city, Milan. With construction coming to a close in 1893, the arcade opened its doors to shoppers.

The Block Arcade Stores Melbourne Tea Rooms & Tours

The architecture of the building has remained unchanged for the many shops that occupy the arcade and any visitor with an eye for detail will appreciate the uniformity in design. Add to this the seamless plant-holders with matching colours and the intricate lighting and it is easy to see why The Block Arcade offers the ultimate shopping experience.

One of the most popular clients at the arcade is the Hopetoun Tea Rooms. The characteristic windows of these tea rooms are filled with mouth-watering cakes whose aroma draws you to the location. A photographer’s playground, Hopetoun is a must-visit for anyone within Melbourne. Haighs Chocolates, one of Australia’s renowned chocolatiers, is also another popular client at the arcade. Decadently delicious chocolates and sweet treats can be bought here.

Popular with food-lovers, the arcade hosts a number of food events yearly leading to increased human traffic at the numerous eateries.

For those who would like an authentic experience of The Block Arcade, there are group tours held twice per week. The tours run on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting from 1pm. The groups meet in front of the popular Hopetoun Tea Rooms.

About the author

Michael Jones

Michael created and runs the Melbourne Point website, as well as the Holiday Point travel brand that incorporates a network of 16 location based travel information and attraction websites around Australia, Asia, and around the world.

With 25+ years of online experience and a passion for travel (having lived in Melbourne most of his life), Michael not only researches and writes content for the website, he also tinkers behind the scenes with the website functionality & design.

Please reach out if you have any questions or suggestions.

4 Comments

Click Here to Ask a Question

    • Hi Robin,

      Finding the information about historic tenants of the Block Arcade wasn’t too easy and I had to scan through the history brochure located at http://theblock.com.au/history/.

      Going through the different pages, it’s mentioned that some of the historic tenants include the Hopetoun Tea Rooms, The Singer Sewing Machine Company and Melbourne’s first Kodak Shop.

      Aside from those, i couldn’t find much more information. I’d suggest having a look at the above where it goes into more detail for each tenant on pages 7-8.

      Thanks
      Michael

    • Hi Heather,

      The following stores are located in Block Arcade:
      Retail Directory A-Z
      Adriano Carbone – Master Tailor
      Alpaca Collection
      Antiquorum/Watchtime
      Art Of Dr. Seuss
      Australian By Design
      Basement Discs
      Beechworth Honey
      Bell & Ross
      Bendigo Bank
      Caffe Du’Omo
      Camper Shoes
      Card & Caboodle
      Charles Dickens Tavern
      Crabtree & Evelyn
      Dafel Dolls & Bears
      French Jewelbox
      Georg Jensen Living
      Gewurzhaus
      Haigh’s Chocolates
      Hopetoun Tearooms
      Keshett
      MCM Studio
      Mr Wares
      Roxanne Fashions
      Rutherford
      Sol Alpaca
      Telstra T Shop
      Very Very
      Wittners Shoes

      Best regards,
      Jess

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Mon - Thurs: 8am - 6pm
Fri: 8am - 8pm
Sat: 8am - 5pm
Sun: 9am - 5pm


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