Spring Street Victoria |
|
---|---|
Parliament House on Spring Street, looking south | |
Coordinates | 37°48′42″S 144°58′24″E / 37.8116°S 144.9732°ECoordinates: 37°48′42″S 144°58′24″E / 37.8116°S 144.9732°E |
Type | Street |
Opened | 1837 |
North end | Victoria Street |
Lonsdale Street Nicholson Street Bourke Street MacArthur Street Collins Street |
|
South end | Flinders Street |
Suburb(s) | Melbourne CBD |
Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. It runs roughly north-south and is the easternmost street in the original 1837 Hoddle Grid.
Spring Street is famous as the traditional seat of the Government of Victoria, as well as being central to many of the state's major cultural institutions. The street's name is frequently used as a metonym to refer to the state's bureaucracy. Spring Street is also notable for its impressive Victorian architecture, including Melbourne Parliament House, the Old Treasury Building, the Windsor Hotel (also known as Duchess of Spring Street) and the Princess Theatre.
The street is thought to be named for Baron Thomas Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Melbourne. An alternate theory is that the name is due to the golden wattle trees in full bloom during Richard Bourke's visit.
The street runs from Flinders Street in the south to Victoria Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north. Nicholson Street begins as an offshoot of Spring Street slightly south to its intersection with Lonsdale Street.