William Street is a major street in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

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 Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It runs roughly north–south from Flinders Street to Victoria Street, and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original

Hoddle Grid Hoddle Grid is the contemporary name given to the approximately grid of streets that form the Melbourne central business district, Australia. Bounded by Flinders Street, Spring Street, La Trobe Street, and Spencer Street, it lies at an angle ...

. The street is located in-between King Street and Queen Street. Notable landmarks on William Street include the

Queen Victoria Market The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemi ...

, the

Flagstaff Gardens Flagstaff Gardens is the oldest park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, first established in 1862. Today it is one of the most visited and widely used parks in the city by residents, nearby office workers and tourists. The gardens are notable fo ...

, Immigration Museum,

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

AMP Square AMP Square (527–535 Bourke Street) is a skyscraper situated in Melbourne, Australia, located on the corner of Bourke and Williams Streets in the Melbourne CBD. Designed by US firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with local firm Bates Smart McCutche ...

Australian Club The Australian Club is a private club founded in 1838 and located in Sydney at 165 Macquarie Street. Its membership is men-only and it is the oldest gentlemen's club in the southern hemisphere. "The Club provides excellent dining facilities, ...

and

140 William Street 140 William Street (formerly BHP House) is a 41-storey steel, concrete and glass building located in the eastern side of the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Constructed between 1969 and 1972, BHP House was designed b ...

(formerly BHP House).

History

2007 shooting incident

On 18 June 2007, a shooting incident occurred on the corner of Flinders Lane and William Street when an unknown man shot and killed a pedestrian and wounded two others. Christopher Hudson later pleaded guilty to the shootings.

2017 car attack

On 20 January 2017, a car was driven into pedestrians in the CBD of

, killing 5 and injuring over 20. The driver was stopped when police shot him in the arm and subsequently pulled him from his vehicle on William Street (at the corner of Bourke Street).

Notable buildings

Several buildings and structures on William Street are listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

and/or classified by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

. These include: *

(former BHP House) * Australian Club Building * Court of Appeal * Goldsborough Mort Building * Hume House *

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...

Mural in Monash House * Queensland Building * Royal Melbourne Mint (former) *

Royal Standard Hotel Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

* Scottish House *

Shell Corner Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

(former) *

* Western House

Law Courts precinct

William Street's junction with

Lonsdale Street Lonsdale Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and was laid out in 1837 as one of Melbourne's original boundaries within the Hoddle Grid. The street extends from Sp ...

forms the legal precinct of Melbourne.for LegalPrecinct.pdf Modern Future for Victoria's Historic Legal Precinct – Victorian Bar
/ref> This junction is the location of the

Melbourne Magistrates' Court The Melbourne Magistrates' Court is the largest venue at which the Magistrates' Court of Victoria sits. It is a court in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that deals with, and dispenses of, a range of criminal and civil matters, including crimin ...

and

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

. The Federal Court building, housing the High Court and other

Federal courts Federal court may refer to: United States * Federal judiciary of the United States ** United States district court, a particular federal court Elsewhere * Federal Court of Australia * Federal courts of Brazil * Federal Court (Canada) * Federal co ...

, is located one block further north on the corner of William Street and

La Trobe Street La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of Melbourne's central business district. The street wa ...

. The

Law Institute of Victoria Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

is located one block south of Lonsdale Street at the corner of

Bourke Street Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

Transport

Flagstaff railway station Flagstaff railway station is an underground station on the metro network in Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations (and one of three underground) on the City Loop, which encircles the Melbourne CBD. The station takes its name fr ...

is situated on William Street. Besides that, William Street is also served by a tram route. Tram route 58 runs along William Street between Peel Street and

Flinders Lane Flinders Lane is a minor street and thoroughfare in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The laneway runs east–west from Spring Street to Spencer Street in-between Flinders and Collins Streets. Originally laid ou ...

References

{{Coord, -37.813, 144.957, dim:1000_region:AU, display=title Streets in Melbourne City Centre