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Brunswick Street Fitzroy- Historic Area

Location Brunswick Street,, FITZROY VIC 3065 - Property No B7089 File Number B7089 Level State

[1/1] B7089 Brunswick Street

Statement of Significance

The shopping strip of Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, developed from the 1840s, and predominantly dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is of State historical, architectural and social significance.
Historically, Brunswick Street was the first significant shopping area outside the city, described as rivalling Bourke Street in the 1850s. It developed as a major general shopping precinct by the 1900s, when it was overtaken in pre-eminence by Smith Street, Chapel Street, and the ever growing city stores. The following decline was not reversed until its establishment as an 'alternative' shopping strip from the 1980s,
reinvigorating the now well preserved building stock.
Architecturally, Brunswick Street is notable as a particularly cohesive and intact 19th and early 20th century shopping strip, which includes a number of individually significant shop/house and shop/warehouse developments,such as the Beswicke Building, the post office and early hotels. In some instances the buildings' size is testimony to the success and aspirations of the people who traded and shopped in the street. There is also an unusually high proportion of original nineteenth century shopfronts for the metropolitan context. The urban picture created by the building stock is further enhanced by the intactness of most upper-floor facades, and the tram route which still runs along the street. The view of St Patrick's Cathedral is one of the major urban vistas in the whole of Melbourne, and is comparable with the view to the Shrine along St Kilda Road.
Socially, Brunswick Street has played an important role in serving the diverse population of Fitzroy, including the artisans and working classes of the nineteenth century, the low income residents particularly of the numerous boarding houses of the twentieth century, and the large number of migrants after the Second World War. From the 1980s Brunswick Street has been considered Melbourne's most "Bohemian" and varied shopping strip, quite distinct from other shopping strips in the inner city. It is home to
a range of shops, bars and cafes catering to a clientele looking for a creative, challenging, or socially aware experience.
Visitors value the interesting ambience, the egalitarian feel of the place, and the artistic expression in the signs and street furniture.
Classified: 04/12/2000

See also: B3300, B3301 & G13091