Central Arcade

Central Arcade is a shopping arcade located in Newcastle upon Tyne, dated 1906 and designed by J. Oswald and Sons. The building features two rows of shops, with those on the west being the rear of Nos. 120 to 150 (even) Grainger Street. It is constructed with faience by Burmantofts and has an iron and glass roof. The arcade is two storeys high and consists of ten bays of varying widths.

The shops are characterized by slender pilasters and curved windows that flank recessed entrances, which have high overlights. A bracketed fascia supports a first-floor balcony, and there are cast iron lamp-holders. Each side of the set-back upper floor has ten groups of one to three windows, flanked by pilasters, with shell pediments above the windows and a top entablature adorned with elaborate rococo decoration.

At each end of the arcade, there are paired arches on Ionic columns and half-columns, featuring cartouches dated 1906 beneath the entablature. Niches with shell canopies in a Venetian style are set within a pilastered surround under a segmental pediment, complemented by radiating panels. The round-arched lattice girders support a glazed roof with a central ridged ventilator. The floor showcases classical motifs in terrazzo, and there are glass block basement lights.