Swanston Street, Melbourne
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Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district,
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 was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically bisects Melbourne's city centre and is famous as the world's busiest tram corridor, for its heritage buildings and as a shopping strip. Swanston Street runs roughly north–south in-between Russell Street to the east and Elizabeth Street to the west. To the south it becomes St Kilda Road after the intersection with Flinders Street, whilst the road's northern end is in the suburb of Carlton at Melbourne Cemetery. This northern section was originally named Madeline Street. The street is named after merchant, banker and politician Charles Swanston.


History

Swanston Street was one of the main north–south streets originally laid out as part of the 1837 Hoddle Grid. Originally carrying pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic, the street resembled many typical European avenues of the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century it also accommodated one of the major tram lines through the city. With the advent of the automobile in the early 20th century, the street became a major thoroughfare, carrying car traffic between areas north of the city and St Kilda Road throughout most of the 20th century. In the latter half of the 20th century, the southern half of the street had problems with heavy traffic and its associated pollution,
homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
, loitering, and a plethora of discount stores, fast food outlets, sex shops and strip joints. As part of Victoria's 150th birthday celebrations, Swanston Street was closed to traffic, turfed and treed between Flinders Street and Lonsdale Street for a Summer street-party on February 9-10, 1985. The conversation then began around the permanent transformation of Swanston Street. In March 1992, the street was closed to daytime private through-traffic between Flinders and
La Trobe Street La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of the central business district. The street ...
s, roughly half its length. This section is known as ''Swanston Street Walk''. Swanston Street was redeveloped in 1992 with a number of public sculptures being established through the Percent for Art Program. The most famous of these statues is of a small bronze dog called Larry La Trobe by Melbourne artist, Pamela Irving. By the turn of the 21st century, the street carried nine tram routes, with the frequency of trams being the highest in Melbourne. In November 2008, the newly elected Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle proposed returning private vehicle traffic to the street. The move attracted opposition from the Public Transport Users Association, Australian Greens and Bicycle Victoria. The idea was rejected and, by January 2010, plans to make the entire length of Swanston Street in the city car-free were announced by the Lord Mayor himself, a complete reversal of his previous stance.


Use for marches, rallies and protests

Many marches, rallies and protests involve the use of Swanston Street, resulting in planned and unplanned road closures. The street is the venue for many annual events, including the Moomba parade, the AFL Grand Final parade and
Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...
parade. It is also the major route for the Anzac Day parade because Swanston Street leads into St Kilda Road, the site of the Shrine of Remembrance.


Becoming car free

Swanston Street was one of the busiest roads in Melbourne, carrying a large volume of private car traffic, mostly transiting through the city. In 1992, the street was made partially car-free, with limited exemptions for small freight, buses and private cars during certain times of the day. After that, proposals for the street to become entirely car-free gained momentum. On 27 January 2010, it was announced that the entire length of Swanston Street would become car free. The $25.6 million proposal included plans for several city squares along the street and several large tram stops. Aside from trams, the only motorised vehicular access was for emergency vehicles and small-scale freight at certain times. The modifications to the street commenced in late 2011 and were completed in late 2012.


Notable buildings

Many of Melbourne's most noteworthy precincts and prominent buildings face Swanston Street as the city's historic main avenue, including: * Flinders Street railway station * Federation Square * Young and Jackson Hotel * Nicholas Building *
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
* Melbourne Town Hall * Capitol Theatre * City Square * Westin Hotel Melbourne * Manchester Unity Building * Curtin House * Chinatown Archway * QV Village * State Library of Victoria *
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 ...
* City Baths Both the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
and
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 ...
also have campus buildings fronting Swanston Street.


Transport

Tram routes 1, 3, 5, 6, 16, 64, 67 and 72 currently run along the street, with the frequency of trams making Swanston Street the world's busiest tram corridor. Two of the busiest railway stations in Melbourne are located near the street, with the hub Flinders Street station at its southern end and, further north, the underground Melbourne Central station at the intersection of La Trobe Street. The Metro Tunnel is being constructed under Swanston Street, and should be completed in 2025. Swanston Street is also a major route for commuting cyclists to and through the city, with bike lanes from the northern suburbs and from St Kilda Road in the south, and the Capital City Trail on the Southbank of the Yarra River. The parking of tour buses along the street caused controversy in September 2008 when a young cyclist was killed by a bus as it turned out of a parking spot. There had previously been calls to the council to relocate the large buses from the street where there was little space between buses and trams. Swanston Street was previously served by bus services to Gardenvale and Middle Brighton. When Melbourne-Brighton Bus Lines' licence periodically came up for review, the Melbourne City Council and Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board always opposed. Finally the buses were removed from Swanston Street in October 1989, by which time they were operated by the Public Transport Corporation.


In popular culture

Swanston Street was the shooting location for the 1976 video for
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
's song "
It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's second album ''T.N.T. (album), T.N.T.'', released only in Australia and New Zealand on 8 December 1975, ...
". It led to a nearby street being renamed ACDC Lane in honour of the music video. It is also referenced in The Distillers' song "Dismantle Me", as singer
Brody Dalle Brody Dalle (born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson; 1 January 1979) is an Australia, Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. She began playing music at the age of 13 and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18, where she founded the punk rock ban ...
is originally from Melbourne, as well as TISM's song "Get Thee in My Behind Satan" and Courtney Barnett's "Elevator Operator". Jane Halifax (
Rebecca Gibney Rebecca Catherine Gibney is a New Zealand actress known for her roles on Australian television in '' The Flying Doctors'', '' Halifax f.p.'', ''Packed to the Rafters'', ''Winter'' and '' Wanted''. She has also featured in a number of Australia ...
) of the Halifax f.p. television series is shown living in an apartment at 339 Swanston Street (Jensen House; now converted into
UniLodge
opposite the State Library.


Gallery

File:Henry Burn - Swanston Street from Princes Bridge, 1861.jpg, Henry Burn, ''Swanston Street from Princes Bridge'', 1861 File:Swanston Street ca. 1873 Charles Nettleton State Library Victoria.jpg, Swanston Street Charles Nettleton State Library Victoria H88.21/9 File:Buxtons Rooms Melbourne.jpg, Buxton's Rooms on Swanston Street, which were the site of the 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition in 1889 File:Swanston Street in 1959.jpg, Swanston Street, looking north from Princes Bridge, 1959 File:Swanston Street near RMIT 201708.jpg, Swanston Street near RMIT, August 2017 File:Z3.215 + B2.2028 swanston.JPG, A pair of southbound Melbourne trams embark passengers in Swanston Street just north of Little Collins Street, May 2012 File:Gate to Melbourne Chinatown.jpg, Archway to Melbourne Chinatown on Swanston Street, January 2015 File:Street stall in the Melbourne city centre.jpg, A street stall on Swanston Street, May 2013 File:Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, Australia.jpg, Flinders Street station, on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets, August 2012 File:Upper House JCB.jpg, link=,
Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...
, on the corner of Swanston and Queensbury Streets


See also


References


External links

{{Melbourne CBD Streets Streets in Melbourne City Centre Shopping districts and streets in Australia Landmarks in Melbourne