Spring Street, Melbourne
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 | |
|---|---|
| Parliament House on Spring Street, looking east | |
Spring Street | |
| Coordinates | |
| General information | |
| Type | Street |
| Length | 850 m (0.5 mi) |
| Opened | 1837 |
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Victoria Street Melbourne CBD |
| |
| South end | Flinders Street Melbourne CBD |
| Location(s) | |
| LGA(s) | City of Melbourne |
| Suburb(s) | Melbourne CBD |
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.
The street is thought to be named after Baron Thomas Spring Rice, Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Melbourne. An alternative theory is that the name is due to the golden wattle trees in full bloom during Richard Bourke's visit.