Bridge Road is a major shopping strip in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. It is best known for its abundance of restaurants, cafes and shopping, which makes it a popular tourist attraction. The
Richmond Town Hall and
Epworth Hospital are amongst the landmarks of Bridge Road.
Route
Bridge Road begins at the intersection with Wellington Parade,
Hoddle Street and
Punt Road in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and runs east through RIchmond as a four-lane, single-carriageway road for just over two kilometres, sharing surface tram tracks, until it crosses Church Street and widens slightly to allow trams a dedicated median in the centre of the road, then passes
Richmond Town Hall. The road narrows back again to share tram tracks just before its intersection with
Yarra Boulevard, before crossing 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 st ...
over the
Hawthorn Bridge to its fork into Church Street and Burwood Road on the other side of the river.
Mary Rogers Square − which is on the corner of Bridge Road and Church Street − is named after
Mary Rogers
Mary Cecilia Rogers (born c. 1820 – found dead July 28, 1841) was an American murder victim whose story became a national sensation.
Rogers was a noted beauty who worked in a New York tobacco store, which attracted the custom of many distingui ...
, who served on the
City of Richmond
The City of Richmond was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994.
History
Richmond was incorporated as a municipality on 24 A ...
from 1920 until 1925 as the first woman elected to local government in Victoria.
Tram routes
48 and
75 pass along the entire length of Bridge Road.
History
Bridge Road is classified as a heritage area as its history dates back to 1837, two years after the European settlement of the
colony of Victoria
The Colony of Victoria was a historical administrative division in Australia that existed from 1851 until 1901, when it federated with other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the southeastern corner of the Australian ...
. The first land sales in the area took place on 1 August 1839.
Historical plaques are placed on many buildings and provide a glimpse into the development of Bridge Road.
The majority of the existing 19th-century buildings in Bridge Road are shops which date from the 1870s and 1880s. The horse-drawn omnibuses which brought shoppers to the area were replaced by cable trams in 1885, which in turn were replaced by an electrified tram service in 1916. Shortly afterwards Cinema Richmond opened in 1919 adjacent to the Town Hall.
Bridge Road was signed as Metropolitan Route 30 between Richmond and Hawthorn in 1965, sharing a short concurrency with Tourist Route 2 over the Hawthorn Bridge from 1989.
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 an ...
: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared Bridge Road (Arterial #5285) to begin from the intersection with
Hoddle Street and Punt Road in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and end at Burwood Road in
Hawthorn.
Major intersections
See also
References
External links
Bridge Road Traders' Association website- includes a business directory, articles and attractions in Bridge Road, Richmond.
Streets in Melbourne
Shopping districts and streets in Australia
Transport in the City of Yarra
Transport in the City of Boroondara
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