The Cavalier Tea Rooms Collins Street, in the Queens Walk Arcade, C. 1949
Constructed in 1889, Queens Walk Arcade extended east from Swanston Street to north onto Collins Street. This grand arcade, frequented by Jean Shrimpton, Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardiner, featured ornate stain glass cupolas entrances paved with tiled mosaics and was home to 22 exquisite store fronts, including the famous mens tailor Henry Bucks, Drummonds, the Savage Club, Hilliers Chocolates and the Cavalier Tea Rooms.
In 1968, the Melbourne City Council began to consider the construction of a large public park in the city centre. It gradually acquired parts of the Queens Walk precinct and to much public out-cry, the site was entirely demolished by the council in 1977 for the construction of the City Square. Without heritage protection, the only caveat that stopped the council from demolishing the Regent Theatre was a local trade union ban.