Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street | |
|---|---|
| Parliament House on Spring Street, looking east | |
| Coordinates | |
| General information | |
| Type | Street |
| Length | 850 m (0.5 mi) |
| Opened | 1837 |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Nicholson Street Fitzroy, Melbourne |
| |
| South end | Flinders Street Melbourne CBD |
| Location(s) | |
| LGA(s) | City of Melbourne |
| Suburb(s) | FitzroyMelbourne CBD |
Spring Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district, 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 Parliament House, the Old Treasury Building, the Windsor Hotel (also known as Duchess of Spring Street) and the Princess Theatre.
There are multiple theories regarding the etymology of the street's name. Some think it is named after Baron Thomas Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Melbourne. Another theory is that the name is due to the golden wattle trees being in full bloom during Richard Bourke's visit. The most plausible reason for the name is more simple than that. Spring is a relatively common street name in English-speaking countries and usually chosen for a street due to its proximity to water, or having a slope or rise in terrain.