St Kilda Road, Melbourne

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St Kilda Road
Looking away from the City towards the Shrine of Remembrance
Looking away from the City towards the Shrine of Remembrance
General direction Northwest-Southeast
From Flinders Street, Melbourne CBD
via Southbank, Melbourne 3004
To Brighton Road and Carlisle Street, St. Kilda
Major Junctions Southbank Boulevard / Linlithgow Avenue
Park Street
Kings Way
Toorak Road West
Commercial Road
High Street
Punt Road
Dandenong Road & Queens Road Limited Access
Fitzroy Street
Barkly Street

St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

St Kilda Road connects the Central Business District of Melbourne with the suburb of St Kilda and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city.

It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004.

Beginning at Princes Bridge (which spans the Yarra River), St Kilda road's southern terminus is at its intersection with Carlisle Street in St Kilda.

The road continues as Brighton Road, which becomes the Nepean Highway, forming a major arterial connecting the bayside suburbs and Mornington Peninsula to the city.

Contents

[edit] Brief history

St Kilda Road - Royal Victorian Institute for the Blinds with south wing building Ormond Hall, which was in the name of Francis Ormond, the public benefactor 1829-1889
St Kilda Road - Royal Victorian Institute for the Blinds with south wing building Ormond Hall, which was in the name of Francis Ormond, the public benefactor 1829-1889

In the 1860s, St Kilda was a major bayside resort village. St Kilda Road was a main arterial connecting it with Melbourne, and was planned as a wide European-style boulevard to accommodate horse-drawn traffic and later trams.

From the 1870s, some of Melbourne's wealthiest residents erected grand mansions on significant lots along the street. Some of these survive.

During the depression of the 1930s, many of these mansions were subdivided into units with extensions to the rear of the buildings.

In the 1950s, an effort was made to introduce higher-density residential living to the area. Housing Commission flats, like the Stanhill Flats were erected along nearby Queens Road.

In the 1960s, local planning agencies changed the zoning from residential to commercial, in an effort to create more office space for a growing local financial industry. The area was given the postcode 3004, and was allowed to use the title "Melbourne", effectively extending the central business district area.

In the 1970s, the Victorian government compulsorily acquired much of the land around St Kilda Junction and demolished many of the buildings including the landmark Junction Hotel as part of a street-widening program to accommodate more vehicular traffic. What was once High Street was adjusted to the approximate width of St Kilda Road and renamed to become part of St Kilda Road, effectively extending it to Carlisle Street. An underpass was created under the road to connect Queens Road to Dandenong Road.

Since the 1980s, heritage controls have protected the few surviving mansions and height limits have been introduced to bring uniformity to the street.

[edit] St Kilda Road today

Melbourne St. Kilda Rd. & Port Phillip Bay (seen from top of the War Memorial)
Melbourne St. Kilda Rd. & Port Phillip Bay (seen from top of the War Memorial)
Aerial view of the Domain interchange on St Kilda Road. The road passes along the southern edge of Shrine of Remembrance then diagonally to the right of the frame
Aerial view of the Domain interchange on St Kilda Road. The road passes along the southern edge of Shrine of Remembrance then diagonally to the right of the frame
National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria

Today St Kilda has been absorbed by the metropolis and the road survives as one of the city's major arteries, flanked by a mix of office, residential and mixed use towers. The street is known for its width and leafiness. For most of its length, the wide street consists of a wide shared footpath (lined with Elm trees), street side parking, a bicycle lane, two lanes for motor vehicle traffic, median strip reserve (lined with mature London Plane trees), another two lanes for motor vehicle traffic and a tram line on either side.

Melbourne's trams travel down the centre of the road along the length of the street.





[edit] Landmarks

Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Road
Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Road

St Kilda Road passes alongside several of Melbourne's famous parks, landmarks and institutions, including:

[edit] Events

[edit] Marches & Parades

Because of its width and central location, the road is used for many marches, including the following regular events:

[edit] Sports

  • Great Melbourne Bike Ride

[edit] Clubs

  • Club 3004

[edit] References

Melbourne's Grand Boulevard: the Story of St Kilda Road by Judith Raphael Buckrich published State Library of Victoria 1996

[edit] External links