Spencer Street

Spencer Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. The street was gazetted in 1837 as the westernmost boundary of the Hoddle Grid.

Spencer Street Victoria
The intersection of Spencer and Collins Street, looking north west toward Southern Cross station
General information
Type	Street
Length	2 km (1.2 mi)
Route number(s)	Metro Route 50 (1989–present) Entire route
Former route number	Metro Route 33 (1965–1989) Entire route
Tourist routes	Tourist Route 2 (1989–present) (through Melbourne)
Major junctions
NW end	Dynon Road West Melbourne
	Dryburgh Street Dudley Street La Trobe Street Lonsdale Street Bourke Street Collins Street Flinders Street
SE end	Clarendon Street Southbank, Melbourne
Location(s)
Suburb(s)	Melbourne CBD

Spencer Street is named for John Spencer, former Chancellor of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom.^[1]

Location

Running roughly north–south, Spencer Street forms the western edge of the original Hoddle Grid. To the north Spencer Street becomes Dynon Road, whilst to the south it becomes Clarendon Street after crossing the Spencer Street Bridge over the Yarra River.

Spencer Street denotes the boundary between Melbourne and Docklands to the west, West Melbourne in the north and Southbank in the south, near Batman Park.

History

Spencer Street was the site of the first permanent buildings in the settlement now called Melbourne. The home of John Batman was built on nearby Batman's Hill where he lived until his death and the early camps of Captain William Lonsdale and Charles La Trobe were located along the street.^[2]

With the creation of Docklands in 2000, the rebuilding of Southern Cross railway station in 2006 and the addition of a shopping centre, the area has undergone significant urban renewal.

Notable buildings

 

Yarra River & Spencer Street Bridge

Many buildings and structures on Spencer Street are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and/or classified by the National Trust of Australia. Others are more modern and significant for their current or future function. These include:

Heritage Listed

• Grand Hotel and Grand Central Apartments (the former Victorian Railway head office^[3])
• Former Mail Exchange
• Overhead Water Tank (part of the former Spencer Street Power Station, demolished 2008)
• History of Transport Mural by artist Harold Freeman (at Southern Cross railway station)
• Sands and McDougall's Warehouse

Other Buildings

• Southern Cross station
• Former Charles Hotham hotel
• HM Melbourne Assessment Prison

Under Construction

Several apartment buildings and hotels are currently under construction, including the Ritz-Carlton which will be Australia's tallest hotel when completed.^[4]

Victoria's largest police station, the City West Police Centre, is located on Spencer Street.^[5] The Victoria Police Centre is set to open adjacent to it on Spencer Street as the new headquarters for Victoria Police in 2020.

Transport

Spencer Street is served primarily by the Southern Cross railway station and is both a major terminus for V/Line regional passenger trains and a major stop for metropolitan trains. The street is served by tram routes 11, 12, 35, 96 and 109 at its southern end and 30, 75 and 86 towards the north.

Ghost sightings

There have been reports of supposed sightings of the ghost of John Spencer roaming around the corner of Francis Street and Spencer Street. This local attraction has brought ghost hunters from around Australia to investigate the phenomena, and is a common stop for local ghost tours.^[6][7][8]

See also

  Australian roads portal

References

1. "Melbourne's streets and lanes: what's in a name?" (PDF). History Victoria. Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
2. Spencer Street 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine City of Melbourne
3. Geoff Peterson (February 1993). "67 Spencer Street". Newsrail. Vol. 21, no. 2. Vic: ARHS Victoria Division. pp. 44–45. ISSN 0310-7477. OCLC 19676396.
4. "Height of luxury comes to Melbourne". News.com.au. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
5. Preiss, Benjamin (12 May 2015). "New police station in CBD's west is Victoria's biggest". The Age. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
6. "???". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
7. "Australia's Most Terrifying and Haunted Places: Victoria". Thisishorror.co.uk. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
8. "Ghost Tours in | Melbourne | Lantern Ghost Tours". Ghosttoursmelbourne.com. Retrieved 27 November 2021.

37°48′47″S 144°57′04″E / 37.8131°S 144.951°E / -37.8131; 144.951