GC Urban Walks - North of Elkhorn Avenue

📅 Fri, 05 Jun 2026

🕕 8:00 am to 10:30 am

📍 Location: Corner of Elkhorn Ave and Esplanade, Surfers

GC Urban Walks

Surfers Paradise Towers - North of Elkhorn Avenue

Walk hosted by Dr Rosemary Kennedy

Introduction

'Surfers', arguably the epicentre of Gold Coast’s beach tourism, has evolved from a collection of holiday shacks a century ago into one of Australia’s highest-profile tourism hot-spots. It is also a neighbourhood that over 47,000 residents call home. Explore the typologies of buildings and evolving urban form from a liveability and resilience perspective on this relaxed outdoor walk along the Esplanade.

Group size - 10 (RSVP via reply to Gold Coast Votes newsletter notice)

Meet at intersection of Elkhorn Ave and Esplanade (opposite The Sands building), at 8:00 am.

Experience focus

This architecture, urban planning, and urban design liveability, and resilience walking tour will:

• Reveal the changing architecture of buildings and their landscaping from the 1960's until now. While some are set in extensive landscaped grounds featuring exuberant subtropical gardens, other very urban models are 'street' buildings.
• Explain the design and features of iconic buildings like Focus, and the Golden Gate, once the tallest, the swankiest and the most technologically advanced structures on the Coast.
• Discuss the Tower and podium typology of the Meriton giants, Ocean, and Iconica

Experience description

• Walking is along Esplanade pathways with some uneven surfaces.
• Follow the Surfers Paradise Beachfront from Elkhorn Avenue north toward Ocean Avenue. We’ll turn down Ocean Avenue onto Surfers Paradise Boulevard to the Golden Gate and finish at Rhapsody Beachside cafe on the corner of Higman Street for coffee and chat.
• From there we’ll jump on the G-Link tram back to Cypress Avenue Station or Cavill Avenue Station, or you can continue north to your next destination.
• Please note that unless publicly-accessible, all the buildings on this tour are on private property and may be viewed externally only.

Duration of walk

• 45 minutes. Add time for coffee and travel into your own plans.
• We'll have a short meeting following the walk.

Bring

• Hat, sunscreen, water bottle, comfortable footwear,
• Go Card (if intending to use public tranport)
• Coffee and refreshments NOT included.

About Rosemary

• Dr Rosemary Kennedy is passionate about climate-responsive architecture and urban design. She has been involved in researching, designing and advocating for good design for subtropical and tropical cities for forty years.
• She is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects. Rosemary lives and works in Surfers Paradise and is a keen observer of the buildings and public spaces of the city by the ocean and can only imagine Surfers Paradises’ rainforest beginnings.