page_title: Cardiff city centre
section_title: The Hayes
hierarchical_section_title: Cardiff city centre / The Hayes
caption_attribution_description: English: Alliance sculpture in central Cardiff, Wales
context_page_description: Cardiff city centre is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Central and Queen Street – to the south and east respectively. Cardiff became a city in 1905.
  The city centre in Cardiff consists of principal shopping streets: Queen Street, St. Mary's Street and the Hayes, as well as large shopping centres, and numerous arcades and lanes that house some smaller, specialized shops and boutiques.
  The city centre has undergone a number of redevelopment projects, including St. David's 2, which extended the shopping district southwards, creating 100 new stores and a flagship John Lewis, the only branch in Wales and the largest outside London. Compared to nearby cities, the new St David's Centre has more retail space than the whole of Newport or Swansea.
  In 2008–9, the annual footfall of shoppers was 55 million, and is expected to have risen to 66 million by 2009–10. Cardiff is the sixth most successful shopping destination in the United Kingdom – behind London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
context_section_description: The Hayes (Welsh: Yr Ais) is where the department store Howells, Bwyty Hayes Island Snack Bar, Spillers Records, St David's Hall, and elegant Victorian arcades are found. At the northern end is Cardiff's Grade II* listed Old Library building (location of the Cardiff Story people's museum).
  The Hayes used to be home to David Morgan department store, an historic local landmark that dominated the shop fronts on the western side of The Hayes. Since its closure in 2005, the Grade I‑listed David Morgan Buildings have been subdivided into several retail units, and the upper floors converted into 56 luxury apartments. The exterior of the building received a comprehensive refurbishment, with the street clock being reinstated and the façade being restored to its original design, following many alterations since its construction in the late 1800s.
  The eastern side of the Hayes is fronted by the new St. Davids 2 shopping centre. Prior to this it was home to Oxford Arcade, a post war construction that dated quickly and was underused given its central location.
  The southern end features the John Lewis department store and the new Cardiff Central Library, which opened in March 2009. The previous Central Library closed in 2006 to make way for the construction of the St. David's 2 shopping centre and was located a few hundred yards north-east on Bridge Street.
  As part of the St Davids 2 development, the Hayes was pedestrianised and repaved. A new public square was created at its southern end with a large, interactive public artwork as its centrepiece called Alliance, a 25 metres (82 ft) high sculpture consisting of a large stainless steel and enamelled metal ring and an arrow column, which was initially meant to feature lights that would rise and fall with the tide.
caption: Alliance in front of Cardiff Central Library
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