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Russell Street, Melbourne

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(Redirected from Savoy Theatre, Melbourne) Street in Melbourne, Victoria

Russell Street
Victoria
Former Russell Street Police Headquarters
Russell Street, Melbourne is located in MelbourneRussell StreetRussell Street
Coordinates
General information
TypeStreet
Length1.1 km (0.7 mi)
Opened1837
Major junctions
North endLygon Street
Carlton, Victoria
 
South endBrunton Avenue
Melbourne CBD
Location(s)
LGA(s)Carlton
City of Melbourne
Suburb(s)Carlton
Melbourne CBD
Former Melbourne Magistrate's Court on the corner of Russell and La Trobe Streets

Russell Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south and was laid out as a core feature of the Hoddle Grid in 1837.

Russell Street is named after John Russell, British Home Secretary and leader of the House of Commons in Lord Melbourne's cabinet. Russell himself was also a future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Geography

Russell Street runs roughly north-south and is located one block east of the city's central thoroughfare of Swanston Street.

At its southern end, the street intersects with Flinders Street and Federation Square, while at its northern end it becomes Lygon Street, the main street of Melbourne's Little Italy.

Notable buildings

Present

Russell Street is lined with established trees and is the home of numerous public amenities and buildings. Noteworthy structures include:

The street is also home to many buildings featured on the Victorian Heritage Register or classified by the National Trust of Australia, including:

Past

Savoy Theatre

The Savoy Theatre was a cinema located at 172 Russell Street, originally built as a temperance hall in 1872, and was quite a grand building, with marble tiled entrance. Fullers Theatres Limited leased the building, and in 1934 it was converted into a theatre, with stalls and circle levels and a stage around 17 ft (5.2 m) deep. The theatre was named the Imperial Theatre, but renamed Savoy Theatre in May 1939 by the lessees Continental Film Art Theatre of Australia who decided to focus exclusively on foreign films, mostly European post-war films with English sub-titles. The first film shown under the new name was the French film La Kermesse Baroque (The Heroic Sex). Filmmaker Fred Schepisi had his first exposure to classic post-war European films such as The Wages of Fear, Rocco and His Brothers, and Bicycle Thieves at the Savoy, when he was a teenager, sparking his interest in films.

Manager Peter Dawson, along with Frank Selleck, later ran the Sydney Savoy Theatre as well. In 1963 the Savoy Theatre was closed and demolished. A multi-storey car park, which also contained a theatre (first named Lido Theatre, later Red Garter and then Total Theatre) was built on the site.

Russell Street bombing (1986)

Main article: Russell Street bombing

On 27 March 1986, a car bomb was detonated on Russell Street near the Police Headquarters. Constable Angela Taylor died and 21 others were injured in what was described as a ‘revenge attack' on Melbourne police, perpetrated by Stanley Taylor and Craig Minogue.

Transport

Rusell street is partly serviced by Kinetic Melbourne bus routes 200 and 207.

Whilst the street does not have tram lines or railway stations located on it, it is easily reached by public transport via Parliament, Flinders Street and Melbourne Central stations. It also intersects with several streets which are serviced by Melbourne tramlines, including Victoria Street, La Trobe Street, Bourke Street, Collins Street and Flinders Street.

References

  1. "Melbourne city grid | Ergo". ergo.slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  2. "Street Names - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online". Encyclopedia of Melbourne. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. "How Melbourne's city lanes and streets got their names". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  4. Design, UBC Web. "Eight Hour Day Monument | Monument Australia". monumentaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  5. ^ "1. Origins". The Savoy Theatre. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  6. ^ Roe, Ken. "Savoy Theatre in Melbourne, AU". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Savoy Theatre". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 28, 944. Victoria, Australia. 30 May 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 11 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Bailey, Michael (20 June 2021). "81, film director Fred Schepisi is fighting fit to keep his own cinematic style". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  9. "Russell Street Bombing | Ergo". ergo.slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 January 2017.

External links

Media related to Russell Street, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons

Streets of Melbourne's Hoddle Grid
Latitudinal streets
Longitudinal streets
Lanes
Arcades
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