Home › Cities › Adelaide

Old photos of Adelaide

35 photographs of Adelaide, from 1865 to 2024 — each pinned to the exact place it was taken.

Have an old photo of Adelaide? A family album, a postcard, a print from the attic. Pin it to the map and it becomes part of the record.
Add your photo

What the photos show

The 35 photographs of Adelaide on PlaceWas span 12 decades, from 1865 to 2024. 27 of them were taken before 1980; the other 8 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.8 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.35 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.

Pick a decade to filter the photos below and the map above. Open full map ↗

Places in Adelaide through time

Spots photographed more than once — compare the same place across the years.

Glenelg train , King William Street terminus, Adelaide, Adelaide — photos through time
Glenelg train , King William Street terminus, Adelaide 3 photos · 1890–1912
Victoria Square Adelaide, Adelaide — photos through time
Victoria Square Adelaide 3 photos · 1895–1930
Victoria Square, Adelaide, Adelaide — photos through time
Victoria Square, Adelaide 3 photos · 1865–1960
King William Street, Adelaide, Adelaide — photos through time
King William Street, Adelaide 2 photos · 1914–1917
Darling Building, Adelaide — photos through time
Darling Building 2 photos · 1915–2024
Exchange Hotel, Hindley Street, Adelaide — photos through time
Exchange Hotel, Hindley Street 2 photos · 1868–1923
Grenfell Street, Adelaide, Adelaide — photos through time
Grenfell Street, Adelaide 2 photos · 2016
Norfolk Arms Hotel, Rundle Street, Adelaide — photos through time
Norfolk Arms Hotel, Rundle Street 2 photos · 1893–1915

Stories from Adelaide

What contributors wrote about these photographs.

Freemasons Tavern, Hindmarsh Hotel, Black Eagle Hotel, Adelaide, Adelaide, 1865
Freemasons Tavern, Hindmarsh Hotel, Black Eagle Hotel, Adelaide 1865 This 1865 photograph records a row of Adelaide hotels including the Freemasons Tavern, the Hindmarsh Hotel, and the Black Eagle Hotel, taverns that served the young South Australian capital less than three decades after…
Stow Memorial Church (now Pilgrim Church), Flinders Street, Adelaide SLSA, Adelaide, 1870
Stow Memorial Church (now Pilgrim Church), Flinders Street, Adelaide SLSA 1870 Stow Memorial Church on Flinders Street in Adelaide, later renamed Pilgrim Church, is pictured in 1870 not long after its construction for the city's Congregationalist community, one of the denominations that shaped…
Glenelg train at King William St terminus, near sth end of Victoria Square, ca 1890 (SLSA B-1128), Adelaide, 1890
Glenelg train at King William St terminus, near sth end of Victoria Square, ca 1890 (SLSA B-1128) 1890 A Glenelg line train stands at its King William Street terminus near the southern end of Victoria Square in Adelaide, in this photograph from around 1890, when horse-drawn and steam services connected the city center to…
Norfolk Arms Hotel, Rundle Street, Adelaide, 1893
Norfolk Arms Hotel, Rundle Street 1893 The Norfolk Arms Hotel on Rundle Street, Adelaide, photographed around 1893. Rundle Street was already established as one of the city's principal commercial thoroughfares, lined with hotels and shopfronts serving its…
Glenelg train (smoking), King William Street terminus, Adelaide, (SLSA B-4397), Adelaide, 1899
Glenelg train (smoking), King William Street terminus, Adelaide, (SLSA B-4397) 1899 A steam-hauled train on the Glenelg line at its King William Street terminus in Adelaide, Australia, photographed around the turn of the twentieth century. The Glenelg railway, opened in 1873, was one of Adelaide's…
SAR Glenelg train in King William Street south, about 1912 (SLSA PRG-280-1-26-288), Adelaide, 1912
SAR Glenelg train in King William Street south, about 1912 (SLSA PRG-280-1-26-288) 1912 A South Australian Railways train bound for Glenelg travels south along King William Street in Adelaide, around 1912. The line connected the city center to the beachside suburb of Glenelg, one of Adelaide's earliest…
Duncan and Fraser factory in Franklin Street, Adelaide (north side) with general service wagons built for the Australian Army, ca 1915 (SLSA B 38794), Adelaide, 1915
Duncan and Fraser factory in Franklin Street, Adelaide (north side) with general service wagons built for the Australian Army, ca 1915 (SLSA B 38794) 1915 General service wagons built for the Australian Army stand outside the Duncan and Fraser factory on Franklin Street, Adelaide, a coachbuilding firm that turned to military contracts during the First World War to supply…
Darling Building, Adelaide, 2024
Darling Building 2024 The Darling Building in Adelaide, South Australia, a city whose central grid was laid out in the 1830s under Colonel William Light, photographed in 2024. Adelaide's compact core is still bounded by the parklands Light…
1860s · 6 photos
1870s · 2 photos
1890s · 5 photos
1900s · 2 photos
1910s · 8 photos
1920s · 1 photo
1930s · 1 photo
1940s · 1 photo
1960s · 1 photo
2000s · 1 photo
2010s · 6 photos
2020s · 1 photo