Brunswick Street, Melbourne

Brunswick Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne, known for cafés, live music venues and alternative fashion shops.

Geography

Brunswick Street runs north-south through the inner northern Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Fitzroy North, from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end, crossing Alexandra Parade, and continuing until reaching St. Georges Road in Fitzroy North, near the Edinburgh Gardens; there, its former northward course is continued by a much smaller residential street named Brunswick Street North.

Tram route 112 runs along the entire length of Brunswick Street for part of its journey.

History

After World War 2, large numbers of immigrants (principally from Mediterranean Europe) settled in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, including Fitzroy. Among them there were many Italians, who in turn imported espresso machines and established the foundations of Melbourne's café culture. For some decades, the suburb of Fitzroy was a grungy working-class area of low rents and cheap shops. This area began to attract students, artists and bohemians. In the 1980s, 3RRR established its studios in Victoria Street, off Brunswick Street, the Punters Club established itself as a significant live music venue, and independent record shop PolyEster Records opened. These businesses cemented Brunswick Street's status as a nexus of Melbourne's indie music and post punk/new-wave subcultures, which in turn drew in waves of suburban tourists in their teens and 20s. Gentrification was not long in following, though the economic recession of the 1990s slowed it somewhat. One by one, the few remaining regular shops closed and were replaced by cafés, fashion boutiques and bars. Gradually, some of the original attractions were forced out; the Punters Club closed in 2002, and 3RRR is presently relocating further out to Brunswick.

Attractions

The majority of the entertainment precinct of Brunswick Street lies between Johnston Street and Alexandra Parade, with some of it spilling southward. North of Alexandra Parade, Brunswick Street becomes predominantly residential.

Live music venues

The Rob Roy Hotel (corner of Brunswick Street and Gertrude Street, Fitzroy) has largely taken up the space left vacant in the Fitzroy live music scene when the Punters Club closed, and hosts gigs on most nights of the week, sometimes by international acts. Smaller performances also take place upstairs at Bar Open and the Cue Bar. The First Floor is a trendy Chapel Street-style bar which hosts bands as well as DJs.

Shops

PolyEster Records is now owned by Australian folk/pop indie label Candle (home to the Lucksmiths), and still carries a decent range of independent and major-label releases. The original founder of the shop, Paul Elliott, runs PolyEster Books, a bookshop specialising in outré topics (sex, drugs and rock and roll feature heavily, as do conspiracy theories and fringe beliefs) on the other side of the street. Some years ago, this shop was raided by the vice squad, who confiscated much stock, though no charges were laid. Since then, the proprietor has gone out of his way to thumb his nose at the authorities by conspicuously keeping pornography on display.