42. Spoke Hill

The underground rail station hub and its plaza shops are a Newcastle hallmark, but not without their behind-the-scenes difficulties, like so many other Newcastle neighborhoods. For one, the subway hub was built long before Newcastle knew that its southern expansion would absorb Morganville, so it’s not the most efficient dispatch center for reaching the city’s many southern train stations. For another, police patrols are inexplicably iffy here, for some reason always on the other side of the underground mall when a robbery or attack occurs. The resultant atmosphere of danger is one that hurts the neighborhood’s retail establishments, effectively limiting their business to the daytime, office-business hours. By night, the shopping mall is practically a graveyard, but the stores are required by lease contract to remain open for the mall’s full hours.

Background

Spoke Hill was the city’s darling for several years after it’s unveiling at the 1942 City Expo. Since then, it’s still recognized as a signature element of Newcastle, but its reliance on private retailers for a disproportionate amount of shopping center upkeep and the geographical difficulties posed by the non-central rail hub have left the neighborhood significantly worse for the wear.

Alternative Name(s)

Metro Underground

Type

District

Location under

New Castle