Rowe Street (Sydney)

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Rowe Street (Sydney) was a narrow lane in central Sydney, originally running between Castlereagh Street and Pitt Street, parallel to Martin Place.

Rowe Street was a centre for Sydney's bohemian life from the late 19th century until the 1970s. The precinct included the original Theatre Royal, the Playbox Theatre, art studios and galleries, restaurants, cafés and coffee shops, many well-known fashion, clothing, interior design and jewellery shops, and Rowe Street Records, one of the first specialist import record stores in Australia.

The entire Rowe St precinct -- including the palatial Hotel Australia -- was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for the MLC Centre, a monolithic Modernist edifice designed by controversial Sydney architect Harry Seidler.

[edit] References / further reading

Powerhouse Museum: Remembering Rowe Street
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/inspired/rowest/