La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

and thoroughfare in the

Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of the central business district. The street was laid out as an extension of the original

Hoddle Grid The 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 a ...

in 1839 and was named after

Charles La Trobe Charles Joseph La Trobe (20 March 18014 December 1875), commonly Latrobe, was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria (now a state of Aust ...

. La Trobe Street extends from Victoria Street in the east to

Harbour Esplanade Harbour Esplanade is a waterfront street and thoroughfare in Docklands, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north–south from Navigation Drive in the south to Docklands Drive in the north. The road also forms th ...

in the west.

Location

La Trobe Street is home to a number of precincts and public and private spaces. The

Carlton Gardens The Carlton Gardens is a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Melbourne central business district, Central Business District in the suburb of Carlton, Victoria, Carlton, Melbourne, in the stat ...

lie at the eastern end of the street, and the western end terminates at

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

in the Docklands. Before Docklands was developed, La Trobe street terminated just beyond its intersection with

Spencer Street Spencer Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. The street was gazetted in 1837 as the westernmost boundary of the Hoddle Grid. Spencer Street is named for John Spencer, forme ...

. In 2000 the La Trobe Street Bridge opened to connect the street through to Docklands, and tram lines were also extended accordingly. 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 ...

are located at the corner of La Trobe and King Streets.

Notable buildings

Numerous notable buildings and structures on La Trobe 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. ...

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:

Victorian Heritage Register

Argus Building The Argus Building on the corner of La Trobe and Elizabeth streets in Melbourne, Australia, is notable as the former premises of '' The Argus'' newspaper for 30 years (1926–1956). It is classified by the National Trust and is listed on the ...

(NMIT)* * Cast Iron Public Urinal (adjacent to

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 crimina ...

)* *

Francis Ormond Building Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

(RMIT)* *

* * Foresters' Hall* *

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (found ...

* * St David's Welsh Church* *

William Angliss College William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

* * Royal Mint (Former)* *

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

* *Also classified by the National Trust

National Trust

* Burton Livery and Bait Stables * E W Tilley Building * Statue of Francis Ormond (artist

Percival Ball Percival Ball (17 February 1845 – 4 April 1900) was an English sculptor active in Australia. Ball was born in Westminster, London, the son of Edward Henry Ball, carver, and his wife Louisa, née Percival. He later studied at the Royal Academy ...

)

Other notable buildings

Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands, Victoria, Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 199 ...

Melbourne Central Shopping Centre Melbourne Central is a large shopping centre, office, and public transport hub in the Melbourne central business district, central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The main tower is high, making it one of the List of talle ...

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

complex *

RMIT University The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

complex *

Aurora Melbourne Central Aurora Melbourne Central is a high residential skyscraper in Melbourne, Australia. It is Melbourne's third-tallest building and the fifth tallest building in Australia. Developed by Malaysian–based UEM Sunrise and designed by Elenberg F ...

In recent years there has been controversy over the number of proposed demolitions for unlisted heritage buildings, including: * 488 La Trobe Street, a Victorian-era workshop built in 1882 (set to be demolished to for a new apartment tower) * 48 La Trobe Street, a coach factory built in 1862 and added to in 1887 (demolished for a small shopping plaza and laneway access)

Transport

Two underground railway stations lie beneath La Trobe Street, with

Flagstaff station Flagstaff station is an Amtrak train station at 1 East Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The station, formerly an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot, doubles as a visitor center and rental-car pickup and is located in downtown Flagstaff ...

toward the west and Melbourne Central nearer the centre. Two of Melbourne's tram routes travel along La Trobe Street. These are the route 30 and the

City Circle tram The City Circle ( Melbourne tram route 35) is a zero-fare tram running around the Melbourne central business district in Australia. Running along the city centre's outermost thoroughfares the route passes many Melbourne attractions including P ...

References

{{coord, -37.8114, 144.9577, dim:1000_region:AU, display=title Streets in Melbourne City Centre