King Street, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
King Street is a main street in the MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. King Street is part of the Pacific Highway
Pacific Highway
Pacific Highway may refer to:*Pacific Highway - Queensland/New South Wales Border-Sydney*Pacific Motorway - Brisbane - Gold Coast *Pacific Highway , the name of several highways in the United States...
, and used to be part of National Route 1 until the city by-pass road linking the Monash Freeway with the Westgate Freeway was completed. The stret is named after Phillip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales.
King Street begins at Flinders Street, continues through the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
CBD and ends at the intersection of Hawke and Victoria Streets in West Melbourne, Victoria
West Melbourne, Victoria
West Melbourne is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
.
King Street is considered a hub of Melbourne's nightlife, and is home to many nightclubs, topless bars and restaurants. King Street is also home to Victoria University
Victoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
's City King St campus. Towards the northern end of King Street are the Flagstaff Gardens
Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne
Flagstaff Gardens is the oldest park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, first established in 1862. In 2005 it is one of the most visited and widely used parks in the city by nearby office workers and tourists...
.
Buildings and architecture
In terms of architecture, there are many notable buildings on the street. The street crosses Melbourne's financial heart and many of Melbourne's tallest office towers line either side of the street, especially between Collins and Bourke Streets. The area was once lined with bluestoneBluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
warehouses, some examples of which still exist to this day. The street has many examples of modern architecture, some designed by Yuncken Freeman
Yuncken Freeman
Yuncken Freeman is an Australian architecture firm. Yuncken Freeman has grown steadily over the years particularly from the economic boom from the 1950s to 1980s to be a sizeable firm in Australia...
who also had their offices located on the street.
St James Old Cathedral
thumb|300px|St James Old Cathedral, MelbourneSt James Old Cathedral, an Anglican church, is the oldest church in Melbourne, Australia, and one of only three buildings in the central city which predate the Gold Rush of 1851...
, an Anglican church, although it is not the church's original site. It was relocated from originally stood near the corner of Collins Street
Collins Street, Melbourne
Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
and William Street
William Street, Melbourne
William Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south from Flinders Street to Victoria Street, and is located in the western half of the Hoddle Grid....
in 1914. Lazar Restaurant (numbers 234-238), a three storey bluestone warehouse built in 1858 is one of Melbourne's oldest and is heritage registered. The Former New Zealand Mercantile building
New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company
New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company - formerly of No. 1, Victoria-street, Mansion House, London.The principal business of the company was to provide investment and loan of monies in New Zealand and elsewhere, together with trade and commerce....
(1909), one of Melbourne's rare unusual Edwardian buildings is on the corner of King and Collins opposite the Rialto Towers
Rialto Towers
The Rialto Towers is the second-tallest reinforced concrete building and the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere, when measured to its roof...
(1986) once Melbourne's tallest. The Melbourne Stock Exchange (1990), another large post modern glass tower is on the opposite corner.
Among the notable demolitions on the street are the Federal Coffee Palace (1888-1972) and Robb's Buildings (1885), which made way for the Rialto Towers
Rialto Towers
The Rialto Towers is the second-tallest reinforced concrete building and the tallest office building in the Southern Hemisphere, when measured to its roof...
, both on the corner of King and Collins, with its observation deck with views over Southbank, Docklands, and Port Phillip Bay.
Adult entertainment district
During the 1980s, the south end of King Street and in adjacent Flinders Street, 19th century warehouses were converted into night clubs.King Street is Melbourne's main nightclub district and a mecca for strip bars and the inevitable visiting interstate bucks parties. On Saturday nights the whole district is a mass of male dominated activity, but recently a change in its direction has taken root. The now famous underground house music Tramp nightclub
Tramp (nightclub)
Tramp is a private, members-only nightclub located on Jermyn Street in central London, England. Founded in 1969 by Johnny Gold with business partner Oscar Lerman, and Bill Ofner Tramp is considered to be one of the most exclusive member's clubs in the world and is a regular haunt for...
(also located in London) opened in 2006, to be followed by at least five other nightclubs.
Clique, a 24hr party bar, the soon to open Buffalo Club are just a handful of professional music clubs within a half kilometre section of strip bars. Of particular note is "la di da" (corner King and Little Bourke), a massively popular bar and nightclub famous for cutting edge electronic sounds and a very trendy patronage.
The street is considered a hub of Melbourne's nightlife, and is home to many nightclubs including Inflation, Exchange Hotel and the Colonial Hotel, topless bars including Goldfingers, The Men's Gallery, Dallas Dancers, Bar 20, Centrefold Lounge and Spearmint Rhino
Spearmint Rhino
Spearmint Rhino is a chain of strip clubs that operates venues throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Central Europe, Russia and Australia. The club opened in 1989 as a supplement to the existing Peppermint Elephant Restaurant. This first Spearmint Rhino was located in Upland,...
as well as restaurants including the Melbourne Oyster Bar.
Events
- The collapse of the new King Street BridgeKing Street Bridge (Melbourne)The King Street Bridge takes King Street over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The bridge continues south as an elevated viaduct, with the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex built around it in later years.-History:...
on 10 July 1962.