Spring Street, Melbourne

Geography

The street runs from Flinders Street in the south to Victoria Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north. Nicholson Street branches off from Spring Street, slightly south of its intersection with Lonsdale Street.

Notable buildings

Spring Street has a number of architecturally notable buildings in the style of Renaissance Revival architecture, with many featuring on the Victorian Heritage Register and/or National Trust of Australia. These include:

Victorian Heritage Register

• Parliament House (1856)*
• Old Treasury Building (1862)*
• Treasury Gardens (1867)*
• Gordon Reserve (1870)*
• Hotel Windsor (1885)*
• Princess Theatre (1886)*
• Alcaston House (1929) an early apartment building designed by A&K Henderson in the palazzo style to complement the wider area
• Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (1935)*
• Shell House *Also classified by the National Trust

National Trust

• Holy Name Sisters (1913)

Other prominent structures

• Parliament railway station (1983) an underground railway station built for the City Loop
• 1 Collins Street (1985) a post-modern tower by Denton Corker Marshall amongst the city's first to incorporate heritage buildings
• Casselden Place (1992) a tall office building which is home to government offices
• Shell House (1988) at the corner of Spring and Flinders Street is a notable granite clad office tower designed by Harry Seidler in a similar style to his buildings in Sydney and Brisbane. The building's floor plates are in the shape of a shell as it was the Australian Head Office of Shell.
• 271 Spring St is a 16-storey tower anchoring the corner of Little Lonsdale and Spring Streets. The modern architecturally-designed office building crafts two existing heritage structures - the Church of England’s Mission Hall and the Elms Hotel, both date back to the early 1900s are preserved and celebrated.

Construction underway

A 33-storey tower has been approved for construction on the site of 1 Spring st. It will occupy part of the existing northern plaza of Shell House on Flinders Lane and would require the partial demolition the existing Shell House.

Parks and gardens

Spring Street forms the western border of the Treasury Gardens and features multiple gardens and reserves. Gordon Reserve, a small triangle of parkland created in 1863 features heritage listed statues and a fountain which was built and designed by a Pentridge prisoner.

A small Chinese garden, known as the Tianjin Garden, is located at the northern end of Spring Street. It is a symbol of Melbourne's close friendship with its sister city, Tianjin, China. The Tianjin Garden is designed in the classical Chinese style, Tianjin Gardens features two pairs of carved lions, rocks, water, and trees.

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons also has small public garden in front of iconic the building, complementing the other green spaces in the vicinity of Parliament station.

Statues and monuments

There are several statues of historical figures on Spring Street, such as the Sir Thomas Blamey Statue, in front of the Old Treasury Building, a memorial to Sir William Clarke in the Treasury Gardens, and the Burke and Wills Monument, also in the Treasury Gardens.

Transport

Parliament railway station, connecting to most suburban Melbourne train lines as part of the underground City Loop, lies directly beneath and parallel to Spring Street.

References

References

1. "Melbourne - City of Melbourne".
2. [http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/feeling-the-heat-20100724-10poe.html Feeling the heat] ''[[The Age]]'' 25 July 2010
3. Dow, Aisha. (2015-07-10). "Windsor Hotel to close, tower plans dumped".
4. [[Royal Historical Society of Victoria]]. "Melbourne's Streets and Lanes: What's in a Name?".
5. Melbourne, School of Historical Studies, Department of History, The University of. "Street Names - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online".
6. (2020-05-06). "271 Spring Street Office Building / John Wardle Architects".
7. "Neighbourhood and local parks and reserves - City of Melbourne".
8. "About Chinatown {{!}} Chinatown Melbourne - Welcome to Chinatown Melbourne".
9. "About Chinatown".
10. "Neighbourhood and local parks and reserves - City of Melbourne".