46-604: Storey Hall , located at 342–344 Swanston Street in Melbourne , Australia , is part of the RMIT City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology ( RMIT University ). It consists of a grand meeting hall constructed in 1887, extended and renovated in 1996, providing a large upper hall, the lower hall as home to RMIT Gallery First Site, and a range of lecture theatres and seminar rooms. The hall
92-432: A central role for retail, with flagship department stores, specialist shops, and luxury brands, and the upper floors of older buildings and down the city's famous laneways host a busy nightlife of numerous bars and restaurants, and a street art culture. The term 'Hoddle Grid' emerged in common use only in the 21st century. While it has long been well known that Robert Hoddle surveyed the first officially published plan of
138-432: A government precinct developed on the east side of Spring Street. The swampy area to the south soon hosted rail lines, with many suburban trains converging on Flinders Street railway station near Princes Bridge , the gateway to the city from the south, and Spencer Street station on the western edge was the terminus for country trains, as well as more suburban lines. Up until 1930s, the river bank west of Queen Street River
184-480: A half chains (99 ft; 30 m) in width, while all blocks are exactly 10 chains (660 ft; 200 m) square. The total dimensions, including widths of streets, are thus 93.5 chains (6,170 ft; 1,880 m) by 47.5 chains (3,140 ft; 960 m). The grid's longest axis is oriented 70 degrees clockwise from true north, to align better with the course of the Yarra River . The majority of Melbourne
230-549: A high rusticated base, and giant order Corinthian columns above, all executed in fine stone. The Society ran into difficulties and had to sell in 1903, and by 1907 it was known as the Guild Hall, used for art exhibitions, a cinema and as a wrestling venue. From 1917-1919 it was occupied by the Women's Political Association, dedicated to women's suffrage and other political reforms, and became a commune to support wharf workers during
276-482: 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
322-670: A marked angle to the rest of the city, and is easily recognised on any map. Most inhabitants of Melbourne know all the streets of the Hoddle Grid by name, and the order they occur. The whole town was at first accommodated within the Hoddle Grid, but the huge surge in immigration brought about by the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s quickly outgrew the grid, spreading into the first suburbs in Fitzroy , South Melbourne (Emerald Hill), and beyond. The Hoddle Grid and its fringes remained
368-662: A park, were standard practice across Australia in government settlements, to facilitate the creation of regular allotments for sale. Notable exceptions include the five central squares of the privately developed plan of Adelaide (also 1839), and the axially placed, though not central, church square set aside in the 1829 plan for Perth. Most of today's well known public squares, such as King George Square in Brisbane , Martin Place in Sydney , and Melbourne's City Square , were created in
414-521: 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 Streets , roughly half its length. This section
460-454: Is a version of the historic hall next door, its basic shapes of arch below and window above transformed by applying the Penrose pattern. The precast Penrose patterned tiles incorporate the impression of ruffles, keys and suspender belts to represent the suffragettes of the Women's Political Association. The colours of purple and green also reflect those of the women's liberation movement, with
506-594: 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
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#1732772269485552-549: 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,
598-567: Is oriented at 8 degrees clockwise from true north - noting that magnetic north was 8.05° E in 1900, increasing to 11.7° E in 2009. Parallel to the Yarra River: One-way westbound, except two-way between Market and Spencer Streets One-way westbound, except two-way between King and Spencer Streets One-way westbound One-way eastbound Perpendicular to the Yarra River: Robert Hoddle also surveyed
644-579: Is still the most common phrase to refer to the central grid area of Melbourne. Official planning strategies in the 1980s and 90s did not use the phrase 'Hoddle Grid'; for instance the State Government's "Central Melbourne : Framework for the Future", published December 1984, identifies it as 'the formal city grid' (p25), while the City of Melbourne's 'Grids and Greenery', published 1987, picks out
690-710: The 1917 General Strike . It was purchased Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now RMIT University) in 1957. In 1959 the hall was named after the Storey family; Sir John Storey (Senior), who left a large bequest to RMIT in order to found the John Storey Junior Memorial Scholarships in memory of his son, and John Storey (Junior), who founded the RMIT Student Union in 1944, and whose studies were cut short in 1947 when he died of leukaemia at age 22. A major refurbishment of
736-588: 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 Hoddle Grid The Hoddle Grid is the contemporary name given to the approximately 1.61-by-0.80-kilometre (1.00 mi × 0.50 mi) grid of streets that form
782-415: The Melbourne central business district , Australia. Bounded by Flinders Street , Spring Street , La Trobe Street , and Spencer Street , it lies at an angle to the rest of the Melbourne suburban grid, and so is easily recognisable. It is named after the surveyor Robert Hoddle , who marked it out in 1837 (to Lonsdale Street , extended to La Trobe Street the next year), based on the city grid established in
828-778: 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
874-500: The 1950s the phrase 'Golden Mile' comes into use, describing Collins Street itself. The "Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme Report", published by the Board of Works in 1954 refers to the area as 'The Central Business Area'. The phrase 'CBD' or Central Business District appears in the 1960s, probably within the publication of the 'Borrie Report' in 1964, and the subsequent Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme, enacted in 1968. CBD
920-495: 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 , loitering , and
966-469: The 20th century, by widening streets and demolishing buildings. Robert Hoddle remained the surveyor for the district until 1853, and laid out all the surrounding subdivisions in a north south, east west grid, excepting the area between La Trobe Street and Victoria Street, which is sometimes included in the 'Hoddle Grid', and is usually officially included in the CBD. This has meant that the original grid sits at
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#17327722694851012-542: The Darling regulations, the area around the grid was reserved for future expansion and government purposes, and some blocks and allotments were held back from sale and were allocated for government use, a market and a church. The first land sale, of allotments around a block reserved as the site for the Customs House, took place in the settlement on 1 June 1837. The lack of a public square or formal open space within
1058-399: The central grid of streets most commonly referred to as 'the City', it was not traditionally named after him. In the 19th and early 20th Century the focus was more on Collins Street , the grandest thoroughfare, with the most expensive and exclusive buildings along its length, while the western and northern edges comprised unremarkable low rise residential and light industrial development. By
1104-510: The centre and most active part of the city into the mid 20th century, with retail in the centre, fine hotels, banking and prime office space on Collins Street, medical professionals on the Collins Street hill, legal professions around William Street , and warehousing along Flinders Lane and in the western end. Government buildings like GPO, State Library, Supreme Court, and Customs House occupied various blocks, while Parliament House and
1150-408: The city design being dubbed the Hoddle Grid. The unusual dimensions of the allotments and the incorporation of narrow 'little' streets were the result of compromise between Hoddle's desire to employ the regulations established in 1829 by previous NSW Governor Ralph Darling, requiring square blocks and wide streets, and Bourke's desire for rear access ways (now the 'little' streets). The placement of
1196-462: The complex yet mathematical elements of the architecture. RAIA National Interior Architecture Award, 1996 RAIA Victorian Architecture Medal, 1996 RAIA William Wardell Award for Institutional Architecture, 1996 RAIA Marion Mahony Award for Interior Architecture, 1996 National Award – Dulux Colour Awards, 1996 Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district , Victoria, Australia . It
1242-614: 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
1288-465: The first survey of Melbourne conducted by Robert Russell (architect) in 1836, establishing the first formal town plan. This grid of streets, laid out when there were only a few hundred settlers, became the nucleus for what is now Melbourne, a city of over five million people. In 1835 John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner organised rival groups of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania) to cross Bass Strait and illegally settle on
1334-424: The first survey of Melbourne in 1836, before Russell returned to Sydney in early 1837. This grid layout was later adopted by surveyor Robert Hoddle when he arrived in early 1837 with New South Wales Governor Bourke in order to continue survey of the area and regularise the fledgling unauthorised settlement. . As Robert Hoddle was the colony's surveyor when his plan of Melbourne was officially published this led to
1380-558: The green, used more extensively inside, referring to the Hibernian Hall’s construction by the Irish community of Melbourne. The foyer contains off-form concrete walls and columns with a curved stairwell. The main auditorium ’s ceiling and large areas of wall are composed of geometric Penrose tile patterns in green and white. Storey Hall is both architecturally and historically significant as it has won numerous awards and combines both
1426-463: The grid was criticised as early as 1850, and it has been claimed that Governor Bourke specifically discouraged the inclusion of such spaces “to deter a ‘spirit of democracy’ from breaking out”. However there is little evidence that Bourke had a view on the matter, and the Darling regulations made no mention of including a central square (as either desirable or not). Instead, simple grid plans, with lots or blocks set aside for public buildings and sometimes
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1472-421: The grid was determined firstly by the fact that the fledgling settlement was already established at that point on the Yarra River , next to a natural shipping basin, just below a rocky outcrop known as 'the falls', above which the water was usually fresh. It was placed to run roughly parallel to the course of the river, with its western half closest to the basin, and spanned the mostly gently undulating area between
1518-644: The hall, and a large addition to the south was completed in 1996 to the design of Ashton Raggatt McDougall . The ground level of the original hall houses the RMIT First Site Gallery, which is operated by the RMIT Union , and has a focus on new media , as well as a cafe named re:vault. One of the key influences in the design of the Storey Hall annex is the use of Penrose’s tiling pattern , developed by Roger Penrose . The street façade
1564-531: The historical and traditional aspects of the former Hibernian Hall to create a complex and daring building. Storey Hall could be said to represent the Deconstructivism strain of postmodern architecture, and contrasts for instance with the more ordered and facade of RMIT Building 8 on the other side of Storey Hall. The Storey Hall refurbishment was one of the first buildings in Melbourne to use computer and digital fabrication , necessary to produce
1610-437: The middle of the blocks to allow for rear access to the long, narrow allotments. These were to be 1 chain (66 ft; 20 m), but Bourke's suggestion of keeping the allotments the standard size by making the main streets narrower was resisted by Hoddle, leaving them as surveyed, so they became 1/2 chain (33ft; 10m), taken out of the depth of the blocks either side, the end result making the allotments smaller than usual. As per
1656-633: 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. Many marches, rallies and protests involve
1702-441: 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 the 1837 Hoddle Grid . Originally carrying pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic, the street resembled many typical European avenues of
1748-556: The site of what would become Melbourne. In response, the Imperial authority in London authorised William Lonsdale to lead a party to establish an official settlement the following year. As part of this Robert Russell was appointed as Surveyor and assigned Frederick Robert D'Arcy and William Wedge Darke as assistants. The grid of streets that is now central Melbourne was established by Robert Russell and his assistants while conducting
1794-597: The skewed grid of streets in various graphics, but only names it as 'the city centre'. More recently the Encyclopedia of Melbourne, published in book form in 2005, and online in 2008, calls it the "City Grid', while another entry on Roads, describing the wider subdivision of Melbourne, calls the central area 'the Hoddle grid'. The phrase appeared in The Age newspaper as early as 2002. All major streets are one and
1840-523: The small hills of Batman's Hill to the west, and Eastern Hill . Elizabeth Street, Melbourne in the centre of the grid coincided with the lowest point and roughly paralleled an existing gully . The streets were surveyed 1 1/2 chains (a chain being 66ft, so they were 99ft; 30m), the blocks at 10 chains (660 ft; 200 m) square, with allotments 1 chain (66 ft; 20 m) wide, as per Darling's Regulations ). However, at Governor Bourke's insistence, 'little streets' were inserted east west through
1886-641: 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
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1932-453: 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
1978-655: 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 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
2024-581: Was built by the Hibernian-Australasian Catholic Benefit Society, formed in 1885, for the local Irish Catholic community, and called Hibernian Hall. The architects were Tappin, Gilbert & Dennehy, and the contractors were O'Dea & Kennedy, and it opened to great fanfare in November 1887. There was a meeting room and offices downstairs, and a large hall upstairs, complete with gallery, and the facade features
2070-433: 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
2116-405: Was lined with wharfs for cargo and passenger ships. Residential uses, most notably the slums of Little Lonsdale Street , were largely replaced by commercial uses by the 1950s, with residential not making a return until the 1990s with the conversion of older buildings. Since the 2000s this has accelerated with numerous high rise apartment buildings and student housing projects. The CBD still retains
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