29-544: The Nicholas Building is a landmark historic office and retail building located at 37 Swanston St, at the intersection of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane , in the Melbourne central business district , Victoria, Australia . Designed by architect Harry Norris and completed in 1926, it is the grandest example in Melbourne of what is known as 'Commercial Palazzo' style, featuring a solid base, vertical middle floors, and
58-423: 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 Streets , 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
87-541: A large cornice. It has housed a range of small businesses, and is now known for its creative industry tenants such as fashion designers and artists and specialist retailers. It had the longest operating manual lifts in the city, and the ground floor Cathedral Arcade is one of the most notable 1920s interiors in the city. The building is listed by the National Trust and by Heritage Victoria . The Nicholas family, headed by Alfred Nicholas , built their fortune on
116-472: A result, some artists in the community have raised awareness that the lack of protection for the use of buildings can have adverse effects in protecting heritage: "However, usage is rarely safeguarded - heritage protection is mainly concerned about the look of a building. And mainly concerned about how it looks from the street. Interiors are mostly disregarded unless there's some aspect about it that has gathered some public fame. In other words, heritage protection
145-425: Is a major thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district , Victoria, Australia . 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
174-653: 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
203-418: Is superficial at best and fairly ineffective in protecting what is worth protecting. Safeguarding a city entails much more than protecting the 'decorative' features of a façade." A reported sale to a social enterprise in 2022 did not appear to eventuate by 2023. In 2017 the 1939 Coles extension was demolished along with many other buildings to the south as part of the development of Town Hall Station , part of
232-631: Is the venue for many annual events, including the Moomba parade, the AFL Grand Final parade and Melbourne Cup 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 . Swanston Street was one of the busiest roads in Melbourne, carrying a large volume of private car traffic, mostly transiting through
261-644: The Halifax f.p. television series is shown living in an apartment at 339 Swanston Street (Jensen House; now converted into a UniLodge ) opposite the State Library. [REDACTED] Australian roads portal [REDACTED] Media related to Swanston Street at Wikimedia Commons Town Hall railway station, Melbourne Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
290-483: The Melbourne Metro project. In December 2022 a 10-storey office development to be built over the station site was announced. The Nicholas Building was built to the then height limit of 132ft (40.3 m), in force from 1916 to 1957. Following the style of American 'Beaux Arts' or Classical revival, the exterior has a base of four floors, supported by piers and Doric columns, while giant order Ionic pilasters divide
319-778: The Public Transport Corporation . Swanston Street was the shooting location for the 1976 video for AC/DC 's song " It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) ". 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 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 ) of
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#1732780522986348-443: 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
377-421: 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 , 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
406-458: 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
435-417: 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
464-614: 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
493-487: The fashion industry, and it became renowned as one of Melbourne's 'vertical lanes'. Valerie (Vali) Myers (1930-2003) had a studio on the seventh floor from 1995 until her death in 2003; she was a dancer and artist who moved to Paris in 1949 and lived and worked in Positano and New York before returning to Melbourne in 1993. The 2003 novel Shantaram , by one of Australia's most wanted fugitives Gregory David Roberts ,
522-469: The ground foor. From 1926 to 1967 a Coles department store occupied the basement and part of the ground floor. In 1939, a five level Victorian era building to the south was replaced by a lower three storey extension, also designed by Norris, extending the area of the Coles store. Some time after this, the rooms above on that side, which only opened onto the internal light well, were opened up with windows to
551-624: The last manually operated lift in Melbourne. In 1964 it was purchased by the Anglican Church as an investment, who then sold it in the 1970s to a consortium of families from the wealthy suburb of Toorak, who put it on the market in June 2021. This led the Nicholas Building Association to campaign to raise funds in order to rescue the current use of the building as a creative hub from commercial development. As
580-504: The one to Swanston Street the most imposing. On its completion it was hailed as a 'modern skyscraper'. The Cathedral Arcade , named after the Cathedral opposite, is L-shaped, with the lifts and stairs to the upper floors opening off it. The arcade features the original finely detailed shopfronts, and a leadlight barrel vaulted glass ceiling. The first floor was also developed as shops, complete with leadlight shop fronts matching those of
609-495: The production of Aspro, a replacement for the German-made aspirin when it became unavailable during World War I. The Nicholas company never occupied the building; it was instead built as a speculative office building development. It was completed in 1926, and designed by architect Harry Norris. Norris established his architecture practice in the building, remaining until his retirement in 1955. The building has two main facades,
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#1732780522986638-544: The south. From the 1950s on, that wall sported various painted or neon signs, with larger ones supported on a framework on the roof, all removed by 2020. The building was home to various businesses, at first many associated with the Flinders Lane garment trade, and later commercial artists, medical practitioners and architects. By the 1990s the small rooms and relatively cheap rent attracted creative industry practitioners and specialist retailers, some of whom still serve
667-641: 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. Many of Melbourne's most noteworthy precincts and prominent buildings face Swanston Street as the city's historic main avenue, including: Both the University of Melbourne and RMIT University also have campus buildings fronting Swanston Street. Tram routes 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 16 , 64 , 67 and 72 currently run along
696-453: 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
725-619: 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. Many marches, rallies and protests involve the use of Swanston Street, resulting in planned and unplanned road closures. The street
754-460: The upper façade into bays, and the top is defined by a wide cornice. The corners are given added emphasis with solid piers projecting slightly forward. The main facades are clad in grey terracotta faience designed to give the appearance of stone, manufactured by Wunderlich as ‘Granitex’, chosen for its durability and ease of maintenance, since it was promoted as able to 'self-clean'. The rear and south facades are unadorned. A steel-frame structure
783-410: 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 . Swanston Street was one of the main north–south streets originally laid out as part of
812-659: Was used for the first three floors with reinforced concrete on the upper floors, a lower cost structure where space was not a priority. The offices above the first floor are planned around a light well that runs down to the roof of the first floor. The building is referenced in the song "Elevator Operator" on Australian musician Courtney Barnett 's 2015 album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit . [REDACTED] Media related to Nicholas Building at Wikimedia Commons 37°49′00″S 144°58′00″E / 37.8167°S 144.9668°E / -37.8167; 144.9668 Swanston Street Swanston Street
841-467: Was written in the building. In 2003, a stencil, believed by UK artist Banksy , was painted on the building, on the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane. A piece of plastic was put up over the work to protect it from the elements but it was later painted over by city council workers, upsetting the art community. Before undergoing modernisation in 2012, the Nicholas Building was home to
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