Chapel Street is a street in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria, running along the inner suburbs of
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...
,
Prahran
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...
,
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
,
St Kilda and
St Kilda East
St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 1 ...
.
Route
Chapel Street is essentially straight and runs for over 4.14 kilometres along an approximate north-south alignment from the
Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower stre ...
in the north to Brighton Road in the south, traversing the south east suburbs of South Yarra,
Prahran
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...
, Windsor,
St Kilda and
St Kilda East
St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 1 ...
. Major street crossings are Alexandra Avenue, Toorak Road, Commercial Road, High Street,
Dandenong Road
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hig ...
, Alma Road, Inkerman Street and Carlisle Street.
Tram
route 78
The following highways are numbered 78:
International
* AH78, Asian Highway 78
* European route E78
Australia
* Waterfall Way- New South Wales State Route B78
China
* G78 Shantou–Kunming Expressway, G78 Expressway
Iran
*Road 78 (Iran), Ro ...
travels along the entire length of Chapel Street, between Richmond and St Kilda. Tram routes
3,
5,
6,
58,
64 and
72 all intersect Chapel Street. The
Sandringham line railway stations of
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...
,
Prahran
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...
,
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and
Balaclava are all within 300 metres of Chapel Street.
History
Joseph Crook is believed to have built the first house in Chapel Street in 1849, when the street was known as Fitzroy Road. Chapel Street was named after the first church in Prahran, an Independent (or
Congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
) Church, built 100 metres north of Malvern Road on the east side, between 1850 and 1852. The first minister of "The Chapel", as it was known locally, was Rev William Moss. In an address to the Collins Street Independent Church in 1888 the Rev. Moss said, "I may mention that our chapel at Prahran was the only place of worship in the district for over two years, and ultimately gave to the business street of that flourishing city its name Chapel Street". The Chapel was closed in 1859, used as a school building until about 1883, when it was demolished. The only surviving church in the commercial part of Chapel Street, the Baptist Church, which was built in the 1850s on the corner of Wilson Street, is now the Irish theme pub Bridie O'Reilly’s.
A
bridge linking Chapel Street and Church Street,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
was not built until 1857 and a ferry service operated over the Yarra River. In the 1850s much of the area between Commercial Road and the
Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower stre ...
was formed of deep clay deposits which resulted in a number of brickmakers establishing businesses on both sides of Chapel Street. The last of the brickworks, The South Yarra Fire Brick Company continued until the 1980s when it was sold to the Singapore Developer Jack Chia for "The South Yarra Project" development which was to include The Como Centre. 1888 sparked major development on the street with the permanent installation of a
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
service.
Virtually from its beginning Chapel Street, between Toorak Road and Dandenong Road was a trading and shopping street with flour milling, butchers, bakers, drapers, boot makers, general stores, carpenters, bricklayers, farrier and blacksmiths, chemists and an undertaker. At the start of the 20th century large multi-level emporiums (department stores) began to spring up in the Prahran section of the street. At this point, Chapel Street rivalled the CBD as Melbourne's shopping destination. Emporium development continued right through to the 1930s.
In the 1970s,
Pran Central
Pran Central is a heritage-listed seven storey Edwardian baroque architectural style former department store, built in 1915 as Read’s Store, comprising a shopping centre with apartments above. The building is located on the corner of Chapel S ...
opened as a major shopping mall. In the 1980s, the Jam Factory and Como Centre at the South Yarra end were the biggest developments to effect the character of the street. Gentrification ensured that this end became home to boutique fashion stores.
The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004''
granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to
VicRoads
VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and a c ...
: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Chapel Street (Arterial #5490), beginning at Alexandra Avenue and ending at Toorak Road through
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...
;
the remainder of the road to Brighton Road remains undeclared.
Sites of Interest
From the Yarra River heading south:
*The Como Centre is a multi-storey office, retail cinema and hotel complex on the north-east corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road. It is the headquarters of
Channel 10 Television.
*
The Jam Factory
250px, Jam Factory, Chapel Street
The Jam Factory is a shopping and entertainment centre, located in Chapel Street, South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. The Jam Factory is owned by Newmark Capital Limited. It is also the headquarte ...
is an iconic shopping, cinema and entertainment complex on the corner of Garden Street.
*Just off Elizabeth Street is the
Prahran Market
Prahran Market is a food market in South Yarra, Victoria, South Yarra, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Located on Commercial Road near Chapel Street, Melbourne, Chapel Street, it was established in neighb ...
, a fresh food market which has occupied its present site for over 120 years.
*Chasers built in 1880, has been a prominent live music and dance music venue for over 40 years.
*Commercial Road shopping strip is the centre of one of Melbourne's
gay village
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establish ...
s.
*The
Chapel Off Chapel
Chapel Off Chapel is a theatre venue in Prahran, Melbourne. Located near Chapel Street and opened in 1995, the venue consists of the 255-seat Chapel Theatre, the 150-seat Chapel Loft and a visual arts gallery.
Chapel Off Chapel is particularly ...
theatre and gallery venue is at the end of Carlton Street.
*
Pran Central
Pran Central is a heritage-listed seven storey Edwardian baroque architectural style former department store, built in 1915 as Read’s Store, comprising a shopping centre with apartments above. The building is located on the corner of Chapel S ...
at the corner of Commercial Road is a redevelopment of a
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
classified building into a retail and residential complex with a multicultural food court.
*Prahran Square created from the conversion of the former Cato Street ground-level carpark into a 500 bay underground facility, Prahran Square provides essential public space and will help to drive the economic renewal of the Chapel Street Precinct.
*Greville Street is a small niche shopping strip. A petite Prahran street leads you gently from the hustle of Chapel Street, into a warm village of boutique makers, retailers and artists. Once the epicentre of bohemian culture in Melbourne, Greville Street has kept its boho-chic aesthetic, while welcoming some of Australia’s favourite retailers into its collective of independents.
*
Prahran Town Hall
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a ...
, on the corner of Greville Street was opened in 1861.
*The
Prahran Mission
Prahran Mission is a not-for-profit community services organisation in Prahran, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It is largely focused on providing services for people living with mental illness, or in economic or social disadvantage. It operate ...
, a community services organisation run by
UnitingCare Australia
UnitingCare Australia is the national body for the UnitingCare network, made up of the Uniting Church in Australia's (UCA) community services agencies.
It is a sister body to UnitingJustice Australia, and UnitingWorld. All are agencies of the Un ...
.
*The Prahran campus of
Swinburne University
Swinburne University of Technology (often simply called Swinburne) is a public research university based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1908 as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College by George Swinburne to serve those without access t ...
is near the south west corner of High Street.
*The first bowling club in Australia, the
Melbourne Bowling Club, is situated behind Chapel Street in Union Street. The club was founded on 11 March 1864.
*Artists Lane - running parallel to Chapel Street is Artists Lane (Aerosol Alley to southsiders), a long bluestone alley splattered in street art. The project was initiated by artist Wayne Tindall, who started by painting himself and his wife outside his studio in the laneway before getting other artists involved, with the blessing of the local council. Look for the painted bins and colour-splashed walls.
*The
Astor Theatre on the south west corner of Dandenong Road is a
Heritage Victoria
Heritage Victoria is a Victorian State Government agency responsible for administering the ''Heritage Act 1995'' and supporting the work of the Heritage Council of Victoria.
Heritage Victoria was formed from the earlier Historic Buildings Prese ...
registered, 1930s art deco cinema which seats over 1,100 people.
*
St Michael's Grammar School
, motto_translation = For the Church of God
, location = 25 Chapel Street, St Kilda, Victoria
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne
, ...
now incorporates many of the area's old buildings.
Gallery
File:Tram on Chapel Street.jpg, Tram on Chapel Street
File:Pran Central Building, Chapel Street, Prahran.jpg, Pran Central Building, on the corner of Chapel Street and Commercial Road
File:JB Hi-Fi Building Chapel Street.jpg, JB Hi-Fi building on Chapel Street, Prahran
File:Sneaker Lane in Windsor, Chapel Street.jpg, Sneakers hanging in Sneaker Lane in Windsor, Chapel Street
File:Artists-Lane-street-art-resio.jpg, Artists Lane street art by Resio
References
{{reflist
Streets in Melbourne
Tourist attractions in Melbourne
Shopping districts and streets in Australia
Landmarks in Melbourne
Odonyms referring to a building
Odonyms referring to religion
Transport in the City of Port Phillip
Transport in the City of Stonnington