8A_L&A_FeaturedLanes

//Dedicated to Beth Jackson//  ﻿ | Home | History | Featured Lanes | Featured Arcades | Revitalization | Maps | Reflection & Bibliography |
 * Melbourne's Laneways and Arcades ** **Project compiled by Charlie, Velyan and Fred**

=Featured Lanes =

ACDC Lane:
ACDC lane was named after the Australian rock band AC/DC in October 2004, it is located off Flinders lane between Russell and Exhibition streets. ACDC lane is quite well known for its cafes, restaurants, clubs and street art.



Bennetts Lane:
Bennetts Lane runs north off Little Lonsdale Street between Russell and Exhibition Streets. The lane was most likely named after Robert Bennett MLA who was the mayor of Melbourne in the early 1860s. The first store in the lane belonged to John Brenssel, a baker and pastry cook, which opened in the mid 1860s. Early into the Twentieth Century the lane was filled with manufacturing and processing workshops, some of those buildings remain there till today. In the lanes early days, it was known for being sordid and poorly lit, and there were many complaints about the constant loud noises and the frequent crimes like drug dealing that took place. Bennetts Lane is now best known for the jazz club of the same name.

Block Place:
Block Place, once know as Carpenters Lane, runs south from Little Collins Street off Elizabeth Street. Back when Block Place was known as Carpenters Lane in the 1890s, it was privately owned but the city property company gained permission to put a roof over the lane and create an undercover passage through to the Block and Royal Arcade. By 1920, Block Place contained shoe stores, stamp dealers, office fitters and dry cleaners. Recently, Block Place has been extended to Collins Street through Block Court.

Caledonian Lane:
Caledonian Lane connects Little Bourke and Lonsdale Streets near Swanston Street. The lane was named after the Caledonian Hotel, In 1860, the lane contained business premises of architects, wine and spirit merchants and general carriers. The lane is primarily used as a service access way but also contains a bar and connects to Drewery Lane. One of the main buildings adjoining Caledonian Lane was Lonsdale House, a wonderful art deco building from the 1930s which was only demolished this year to make way for the expansion of Myer. This led to the eviction of the many small businesses that had sprung up in this lane in recent years, including a bar called St. Jerome's which was the base for the highly successful Laneway Festivals that saw thousands of fans cramming into the lane to watch rock bands.



The Causeway:
The Causeway is a narrow laneway that connects the Bourke Street Mall to Little Collins Street on the block between Elizabeth and Swanston streets. It was previously known as Craigs Lane, which in 1895 was the location of the Mechanic's Hotel. Previous occupants in Craigs Lane included a carpenter and cabinetmaker. The Causeway is lined with cafes and restaurants, and closed to all vehicular traffic.

Celestial Avenue:
Celestial Avenue is a dead-end lane, that runs north off Little Bourke Street in Chinatown, between Swanston and Russell Streets. It was first known as Celestial Alley, and was originally occupied in the 1840s by tradesmen with Anglo Saxon names. By 1860, it contained many Chinese boarding houses, and a wholesale coffee dealer named William Sawden. The avenue was named for its Chinese residents, as 'Celestial' a term commonly used in European colonies of the nineteenth century to refer to Chinese immigrants. In 1892, a group of charitable ladies opened a school for the Chinese children of Little Bourke Street, the school was through a back entrance in Celestial Avenue. A letter to the City of Melbourne described the terrible danger of the ladies charity. "Three of the young teachers at the school got typhoid fever and this caused fear that there may be something wrong with the drainage in Celestial Alley." The inspector however, found that the disease must have been contracted elsewhere. In the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the lane included a Chinese newspaper office, a herbalist, restaurants and storerooms. The best-known landmark in Celestial Lane is Supper Inn, a very popular Chinese restaurant that has remained unchanged for many years.



Centre Place:
Centre Place leads north from Flinders Lane between Elizabeth and Swanston streets, and hooks left midway to Collins Street, preventing vehicular access. As such, the lane is ideal for pedestrian use and boasts cafes, restaurants and boutiques to lure shoppers. Centre Place was a originally named Cummings Alley. Centre Place became one of the first generation of revitalised laneways in the late 1980s, when the director of design and urban environment for the City of Melbourne, council and state government moved to protect and upgrade the city's remaining laneways and alleys, and Centre Place was one of them.



Cohen Place:
Cohen Place leads north from Little Bourke Street in Chinatown, between Russell and Exhibition streets. It was probably named for either Cohen's Pawnbroker in Little Lonsdale Street, or the Cohen Brothers Upholsterers in Lonsdale Street. In 1895, the lane was known as Browns Place. In 1920, Cohen Place contained the Taxi Cab Company, the Star Cigar Company, and the workshops of Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1999, the Heritage Council and the museum embarked on a demolishing of a site in Cohen Place, under what has since become the Chifley Hotel. The demolition destroyed thousands of historic artifacts and significant architectural remains.



Croft Alley/Paynes Place:
Croft Alley is a narrow lane that leads south from the end of Paynes Place, which in turn runs off Little Bourke Street in Chinatown between Russell and Exhibition Streets. Paynes Place, previously Commercial Lane, extended as far south as Bourke Street. Croft Alley offered rear access to the residences of Commercial Lane and Market Lane. It also serviced the Gallery Hotel on Bourke Street, via an east-west access laneway that reconnected Croft Alley to Commercial Lane and to Brien Lane, Coverlid Place and Golden Fleece Alley. By 2008, Payne's Place had been shortened by the cinema on Bourke Street, and it now leads directly into Croft Alley, which has become a dead-end. Illustrating a peculiarity of Melbourne's bar scene, three wooden benches now lives from the southern end of Croft Alley, providing seating to those waiting in line to enter The Croft Institute, the alley's fashionable laboratory-themed bar. The rest of the alley is filled with garbage bins and crates.



Degraves Street:
Degraves Street is located between Elizabeth and Swanston streets, extending north from Flinders Street and connects with Campbell Arcade and Degraves Place, where the entrance to the Flinders Street Station underpass is located. In 1895, the Degraves Building, headquarters of William Degraves & Co also housed many importers, manufacturers and agents. Close to the underground exit from Flinders Street Station, Degraves Street today is a popular café and restaurant area, also contains housing several small boutique stores.



Gun Alley:
Gun Alley was located between Russell and Exhibition streets, extending south from Little Collins Street. It no longer exists. In 1895, the Paddington Hotel was situated on the corner of Little Collins Street and Gun Alley. By 1920, business located on the alley included two motor engineers and a printer. Gun Alley is most well known for "The Gun Alley Murder". On 30 December 1921, 12 year-old school girl, Alma Tirtschke was raped and murdered, her body found in Gun Alley the following day. She was last seen on the afternoon of 30 December near the Australian Wine Saloon, a small drinking establishment run by Colin Campbell Ross. The Melbourne community was shocked at such a brutal crime, and with pressure mounting to catch the killer, Colin Ross was arrested and charged with the murder. The case against Ross was based on the evidence of two witnesses and the discovery of a red hair believed to be from Alma, which provided a crucial link between Ross and the murder. Despite maintaining his innocence, Ross was hanged at Old Melbourne Gaol on 24 April 1922. On May 27 2008 Colin Ross was found innnocent of the Gun Alley murder after a researcher named Kevin Morgan uncovered several flaws in the judicial proceedings and showed enough evidence to clear Colin Campbell Rosses name 86 years after he was wrongly hung.



Hardware Lane:
Hardware Lane is located between Queen and Elizabeth streets, connecting Little Bourke and Lonsdale Streets. In 1895 it was known as Wrights Lane. Wrights Lane was home to several hotels. The Kirks Bazaar Hotel, which was first occupied in 1866, was located on the eastern corner of Little Bourke Street and Wrights Lane. Kirks Bazaar Hotel is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Inventory. The Shamrock Hotel was situated at the opposite end of the lane, on the intersection with Lonsdale Street. It was renamed to Hardware lane in 1927 after the hardware house. Today Hardware Lane is a popular location for dining and listening to jazz music.



Hosier Lane:
Hosier Lane is located between Swanston and Russell Streets, extending from Flinders Street through to Flinders Lane. Businesses located in Hosier lane in 1920 were quite diverse. These included an organ manufacturer, a warehouse for a men's clothing company, and a costume manufacturer, Hosier Lane was located in the clothing manufacturing district at this time. Today this lane is a brightly lit lane well known for its quirky bars and its graffiti art.



Howey Place:
Howey Place is located between Elizabeth and Swanston Streets, and extends south from Little Collins Street. It's an enclosed pedestrian walk that connects with Swanston Street. In 1909, some confusion arose as to the name of Howey Place. A letter was written to the Melbourne city council inquired as to whether Howey Street had been renamed Howey Place. According to the letter, the lane was listed as Howey Street in the street directory and all of the businesses had their stationery printed accordingly. The letter further requested that the new street sign reading Howey Place be replaced by the old Howey Street. Despite this letter, there is no other evidence that Howey Place was ever officially known as Howey Street. In an 1853 plan of Melbourne's rights-of-way, the lane is recorded as Howey Alley, not street. This confusion over lane names was not uncommon. In many cases they were listed on maps interchangeably as 'Lane', 'Alley' or 'Place' and often the spelling of the names differed depending on the source.



Market Lane:
Market Lane was located between Little Bourke and Bourke Streets. In 1860, the Ebenezer Baptist Chapel was located in Market Lane. The lane became gas lit by the 1860s and the nearby Eastern Market provided fresh produce and lively entertainment on Saturday nights. By 1891, Market Lane was thriving with business: the Commercial Bank of Australia, the Victorian skittle saloon and Yeoman's photographic laboratory were located here.





Niagara Lane:
Niagara Lane connects Little Bourke to Lonsdale Streets between Queen and Elizabeth Streets. The lane was previously known as Millers Lane. In 1856, the Niagara Hotel was located in Niagara Lane. In 1891, the lane was home to many residents as well as importers and merchants, dining rooms, confectioners and plumbers and gasfitters. Niagra now conists mainly of apartment buildings.



Rankins Lane:
Rankins Lane is located between Queen and Elizabeth Streets and extending south from Little Bourke Street. In the early to mid twentieth century, the lane was mostly used for shoe-dying and jewellery manufacturing. By 1994, these factories and warehouses had been converted to residential apartments. One of the pioneer residents of Rankins Lane in the dark days of the mid-1980s, when living in the CBD was very rare and considered the height of bohemia, was none other than Ben Lempriere (father of Charles) who resided on the first floor of 2 Rankins Lane. Another colourful Rankins Lane resident at this time was the flamboyant magician Sam Angelico. Ben reports that city living at this time was not without its discomforts - there was nowhere to purchase general grocery items such as a carton of milk or a roll of toilet paper, and apart from restaurants and nightclubs the city was virtually abandoned from midday on Saturday until Monday morning.

Tattersalls Lane:
Tattersalls Lane is located between Swanston and Russell Streets, Tattersalls Lane extends from Lonsdale Street to Little Bourke Street. It was named pre-1856 after the Tattersalls Hotel and Tattersalls Club located nearby, and in 1860 was populated by a number of Chinese migrants attracted to Victoria by the discovery of gold in the colony. In 1893, the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company, manufacturers of bicycle tyres, was established in Tattersalls Lane. Today Tattersalls Lane contains some workshops and garages.

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Union Lane:
Union Lane is located between Elizabeth and Swanston Streets, Union Lane extends from Bourke Street to Little Collins Street. It was named after the Union Hotel that was situated on Little Collins Street during the 1860s. Due to its central location, only high-value production occupied Union Lane in the 1890s. These included electroplaters, brass finishers, locksmiths, a stereotyper, a wholesale newsagent and a watchmaker. In 1901, it was the location of the Central Club Hotel and a wholesale music store. In 2008, Union Lane became the canvas for the City of Melbourne's Street Art Project which transformed this high profile location in the heart of Melbourne's retail hub that was increasingly popular and heavily tagged into a space for a street art mural spanning 550 square metres on both sides of the lane.



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