Lanes and arcades of Melbourne
The Melbourne central business district in Australia is home to numerous lanes and arcades. Often called "laneways", these narrow streets and pedestrian paths date mostly from the Victorian era, and are a popular cultural attraction for their cafes, bars and street art.
The city's oldest laneways are a byproduct of Melbourne's original urban plan, the 1837 Hoddle Grid, and were designed as access routes to service properties fronting the CBD's major thoroughfares. By the 1850s gold rush, Melbourne had over one hundred lanes, some of which became associated with the city's criminal underbelly, notably those in the Little Lon district. Melbourne's shopping arcades, among the best known being the Block Arcade and the Royal Arcade, reached a peak of opulence during the late Victorian era. Since the 1990s, many lanes in Melbourne have become pedestrianised and undergone gentrification. Recognised today for their heritage value, they frequently feature in tourism promotions, and attract visitors from throughout Australia and the world. A number of laneways, such as Hosier Lane, are street art hotspots, and referred to as "laneway galleries".
St Jerome's Laneway Festival, often referred to simply as Laneway, is a popular music festival that began in 2004 in Melbourne's laneways.
ACDC Lane
ACDC Lane is a short, narrow laneway, running south from Flinders Lane between Exhibition Street and Russell Street.The street was formerly called Corporation Lane, but was renamed on 1 October 2004 as a tribute to Australian rock band AC/DC. The Melbourne City Council's vote to rename the street was unanimous. The trademark lightning bolt or slash used to separate the AC and the DC in the band's name contravened the naming policy of the Office of the Registrar of Geographic Names, so the punctuation was omitted on the street sign.
Melbourne's Lord Mayor John So launched ACDC Lane with the words, "As the song says, there is a highway to hell, but this is a laneway to heaven. Let us rock." Bagpipers then played "It's a Long Way to the Top." One month after the renaming, a lightning bolt was erected above and below the street sign.
Corporation Lane was chosen for renaming in part because the band filmed the music video for "It's a Long Way to the Top " on Melbourne's Swanston Street. ACDC Lane is near Swanston Street.
Other factors given include: AC/DC's status as cultural ambassadors for Australia, the band's ties to Melbourne, and the lane's position in the city's bar district.
Amphlett Lane
Amphlett Lane is a lane off Little Bourke Street. It was renamed in honour of Chrissy Amphlett in 2014. Christina Joy Amphlett was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress who was the frontwoman of the Australian rock band Divinyls. Amphlett died in 2013 of breast cancer and complications from multiple sclerosis.The laneway is nestled behind the Princess Theatre on Spring Street and the rear of the Palace on Bourke, and is, said Cr Doyle, "emblematic, being at the back of two theatres where Chrissy so famously performed".
Bank Place
Bank Place is a short, narrow laneway, running south from Little Collins Street between Queen Street and William Street.Located in the heart of the financial sector, Bank Place is an oasis of heritage pre-war buildings dating from the 1860s through to the 1920s. Looking north, a vista is framed by Normanby Chambers.
The precinct is subject to heritage restrictions, and some of the significant buildings include:
- Mitre Tavern, historic pub established in 1868 and remodelled in the Queen Anne style between 1900 and 1910. Mitre Tavern was a popular 'bohemian' hangout for many of Australia's most prominent artists of the early twentieth century, alongside the neighbouring Savage Club.
Stalbridge Chambers built in 1891 is on the corner of Little Collins. Charter House is another notable old building in the lane.
The lane also includes several ornate heritage lamp posts and bluestone alleys.
Bank Place is home to several popular bars and cafes which serve many of the nearby office workers. Many of the taller old buildings have been converted into loft style apartments.
Bligh Place
Bligh Place is a short, quiet and narrow open laneway, running north from Flinders Lane between Elizabeth Street and Queen Street.Located near Victoria University and the financial centre of Melbourne, Bligh Place is a short lane which connects across Flinders Lane with University Place and University Arcade through to Flinders Street. As such, it is popular with students and is currently flanked by some small noodle, sushi, cafes and wine bars.
The lane was developed in the 1990s following the location of Victoria University to the inner city campus and has a heritage building which was restored in the late 1990s on the eastern entrance and some converted warehouse lofts apartments. A vista is created by the Victoria University campus to the south on Flinders Street.
The lane is bitumen with a small strip blue stone cobbled gutter, has suspended overhead lighting and is unused by vehicular traffic.
The Block Arcade
The Block Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade that forms a short, narrow laneway, connecting Collins Street to Little Collins Street in the central business district of Melbourne. It is also connected to Elizabeth Street in the west, thus, forming a L-shaped arcade and connecting to Block Place through to the Royal Arcade.Melbourne's Golden Mile heritage walk runs through the arcade.
The arcade which was erected between 1891 and 1893 was designed by architect David C. Askew whose brief was to produce something similar to the Galleria Vittoria in Milan. The result was one of Melbourne's most richly decorated interior spaces, replete with mosaic tiled flooring, glass canopy, wrought iron and carved stone finishings. The exterior façade of the six-storey office has near identical facades on Collins and Elizabeth Streets and is one of Australia's best surviving examples of the Victorian Mannerist style.
The arcade was formerly known as "Carpenter's Lane"; however, the precinct was widely known as "The Block". Once the works were complete, local shopkeepers successfully petitioned to have it changed to its present name.
It is a significant Victorian era arcade and is on the Victorian Heritage Register. Along with Melbourne's other main arcade, the Royal Arcade, and Melbourne's lanes, it is a tourist icon of the city.
Block Place
Block Place is a short, narrow partially covered laneway, running south from Little Collins Street between Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street.Block Place is a pedestrian only laneway that is trendy and popular with both Melbourne locals and tourists for its intimate alfresco cafes close to the shopping heart of Melbourne it is crowded with cafes and shops in a number of pre-war buildings. Cafe Segovia is one of a popular lunch destination and a popular record store is located in underground basements.
The lane joins with the heritage Block Arcade, a 19th-century covered shopping arcade. Block Arcade and Block Place form a T-shape running from Little Collins Street through to Collins Street and Elizabeth Street.
Royal Arcade is just across Little Collins and connects through to Bourke Street.
Caledonian Lane
Caledonian Lane is a short, quiet and narrow open laneway, running north from Little Bourke Street between Little Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street.Caledonian Lane is most notable as the former home to the St Jerome's Laneway Festival. It is also notable due to controversial developments in 2009 involving the redevelopment of the Post Office precinct and Department Store precinct also involving the shutting down of both St Jerome's and the festival.
A consortium involving Myer and Colonial First State applied for exemption from the City of Melbourne Heritage Overlay to widen the lane by 4 metres to improve access for delivery trucks and in the process demolish the art deco landmark Lonsdale House in 2009. Permission was granted by both the City of Melbourne and the State planning minister Justin Madden MP on 24 July 2009 under controversial circumstances. In response to the demolition for the sake of lane widening, a preservation group called Save Lonsdale House formed in late 2009 despite protests the building was demolished in 2010 and the lane was widened.
Until 2004, Caledonian Lane was home to a number of small independent store owners, however the buildings were sold under vacant possession in 2007.
The lane is bitumen with a small strip blue stone cobbled gutter, has street lighting attached to Lonsdale House and is by both pedestrian and vehicular traffic, mainly delivery trucks. Caledonian Lane forms a vista toward both Loudon Place to the south and Drewery Lane to the north, both are almost directly opposite.
Cathedral Arcade
Cathedral Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade forming a short, narrow laneway, connecting Swanston Street to Flinders Lane. It is a T-shaped arcade, however one of the laneways terminates inside of the building.The arcade is notable as it retains all of its original features. The arcade is fully covered by stained glass and leadlights, which forms a highly detailed arch leading to a central dome. The floors are decorated with ceramic tiles, and the shopfronts feature richly detailed wood panels.
The art deco arcade, which dates back to 1925 is part of the Nicholas Building designed by Harry Norris, is an early interwar palazzo skyscraper. The building itself, including the arcade is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.