Grace Brothers opened a small department store on the site of a former picture theatre on Oxford Street in 1939.
The store was replaced in 1957 by a large building designed by Morrow and Gordon, and with parking for 120 cars; the budget was £500,000, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In the early 1970s the store's striking Modernist exterior was documented by prominent Sydney photographer Max Dupain.
Grace Bros dominated shopping in the region until Bondi Junction Plaza was completed in 1976.
The store was demolished in the early 2000s to make way for the new Westfield.

In the early 1970s, a shopping centre known as The Carousel was opened.
This three-level centre of around 50 shops included a Safeway supermarket (later Woolworths) and, notably for the time, a food court.
The centre was characterised by a large carousel in the middle atrium of the ground floor.

With the promise of the Eastern Suburbs Railway, a larger shopping centre was built by AMP and the Uniting Church (who owned part of the site).
This shopping centre, called Bondi Junction Plaza opened in 1976 and included a David Jones department store.
In 1979, the first of two commercial office towers ("Plaza Tower I") was opened above the site.
The second ("Plaza Tower II"), larger tower, opened in 1985.
Both these towers are over 80 m in height.
The construction of the shopping centre was a watershed, as Australia had no other commercial shopping projects of such scale during the 1970s.

The Public Transport Commission originally intended to construct a shopping complex around Bondi Junction railway station and link this to the Bondi Junction Plaza development by means of a tunnel.
The tunnel was opposed by the local Chamber of Commerce and subsequently dropped together with the entire commercial development in 1976 when the railway was reassessed in a cost-cutting exercise.
In 1983, a third shopping centre was opened below the Eastgate residential apartment development known as Eastgate Bondi Junction.
A fourth shopping centre was opened above the new bus interchange in 2001 and is known as Tiffany Plaza.

In 1994, The Westfield Group bought a controlling interest in Bondi Junction Plaza, renaming it Westfield Bondi Junction Plaza.
They began planning a redevelopment of the shopping centre and the Grace Brotherss site opposite.
The first Development Application was lodged with the two controlling councils (Waverley and Woollahra) in 1996.
The councils were unable to reach a joint conclusion between themselves and Westfield on the development.
While they agreed in principle to the development, they variously objected to the scale of the project.
This dragged on into 1998 before the NSW government assumed planning control of the project.
It was subsequently approved with minor modification.
Westfield did not begin development immediately, in view of the then imminent 2000 Olympics.

In 2000, Westfield bought AMP's remaining stake in the shopping complex and also purchased the adjacent Carousel centre (which, by the late 1980s, had already been linked in with the Plaza shopping centre, by a series of internal walkways).
Plans were amended to incorporate this centre in the redevelopment, further delaying the project.
Construction of the new Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre began in 2002.
It was completed in stages from November 2003 to August 2004 and has become one of the largest shopping complexes in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Grace Brothers opened a small department store on the site of a former picture theatre on Oxford Street in 1939. The store was replaced in 1957 by a large building designed by Morrow and Gordon, and with parking for 120 cars; the budget was £500,000, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. In the early 1970s the store's striking Modernist exterior was documented by prominent Sydney photographer Max Dupain. Grace Bros dominated shopping in the region until Bondi Junction Plaza was completed in 1976. The store was demolished in the early 2000s to make way for the new Westfield.
In the early 1970s, a shopping centre known as The Carousel was opened. This three-level centre of around 50 shops included a Safeway supermarket (later Woolworths) and, notably for the time, a food court. The centre was characterised by a large carousel in the middle atrium of the ground floor.
With the promise of the Eastern Suburbs Railway, a larger shopping centre was built by AMP and the Uniting Church (who owned part of the site). This shopping centre, called Bondi Junction Plaza opened in 1976 and included a David Jones department store. In 1979, the first of two commercial office towers ("Plaza Tower I") was opened above the site. The second ("Plaza Tower II"), larger tower, opened in 1985. Both these towers are over 80 m in height. The construction of the shopping centre was a watershed, as Australia had no other commercial shopping projects of such scale during the 1970s.
The Public Transport Commission originally intended to construct a shopping complex around Bondi Junction railway station and link this to the Bondi Junction Plaza development by means of a tunnel. The tunnel was opposed by the local Chamber of Commerce and subsequently dropped together with the entire commercial development in 1976 when the railway was reassessed in a cost-cutting exercise. In 1983, a third shopping centre was opened below the Eastgate residential apartment development known as Eastgate Bondi Junction. A fourth shopping centre was opened above the new bus interchange in 2001 and is known as Tiffany Plaza.
In 1994, The Westfield Group bought a controlling interest in Bondi Junction Plaza, renaming it Westfield Bondi Junction Plaza. They began planning a redevelopment of the shopping centre and the Grace Brotherss site opposite. The first Development Application was lodged with the two controlling councils (Waverley and Woollahra) in 1996. The councils were unable to reach a joint conclusion between themselves and Westfield on the development. While they agreed in principle to the development, they variously objected to the scale of the project. This dragged on into 1998 before the NSW government assumed planning control of the project. It was subsequently approved with minor modification. Westfield did not begin development immediately, in view of the then imminent 2000 Olympics.
In 2000, Westfield bought AMP's remaining stake in the shopping complex and also purchased the adjacent Carousel centre (which, by the late 1980s, had already been linked in with the Plaza shopping centre, by a series of internal walkways). Plans were amended to incorporate this centre in the redevelopment, further delaying the project. Construction of the new Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre began in 2002. It was completed in stages from November 2003 to August 2004 and has become one of the largest shopping complexes in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Bondi Junction, New South Wales