Arcades & Lanes Part II

Back in the hustle and bustle of the city, I began my walk of the Arcades & Lanes at Flinders Street station, a traditional meeting place “Under the Clocks” at Flinders Street Station.

Crossing Flinders Street, I turned left and walked on before turning right into Degraves Street. It was the place where William Degraves’ steam flourmill pumped away in the 1850s. Nowadays, it’s espresso.

Over at the Degraves Espresso Bar, the seats are recycled cinema seats and benches from a former magistrate court. At the end of Degraves street, on the other side of Flinders’ Lane stood the Majorca Building, still as stylist as it looked in the 1920s.

Centre Place is a breeding ground for cafes – some so small that one can barely stretch to stir their coffee. Stepping up into the Centre Way, this building is an early steel-framed building with a modern makeover.

Crossing over to Collins street, is the exquisite 19th century Block Aracade. The arcade was named after the fashionable Collins Street block between Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street where 19th century Melburnians liked to promenade or “do the block”. Today, there are still activities there with its mosaic floors and the fascinating shops to explore.

Skipping the Block Place, Royal Arcade, I reached Melbourne’s shopping heart at Bourke Street Mall and I turned left to pick up the public purse, just outside The General Post Office.

Near to the public purse was the Underground Public Toilets. The men’s were built in 1910 while the ladies waited longer until 1927.

Entering into Little Bourke Street and crossing two laneways later, I came to a group of 1880s warehourse at Niagara Lane, with the barrel hoists. The lane was named in the 1860s after the Niagara Hotel in Londale Street.

Round the corner, after a short walk up Lonsdale Street, bustling Hardware Lane epitomises Melbourne’s laneway renaissance. With cobbled stones underfoot and café umbrellas overheard, the alfresco seating, the fascinating facades and small specialty shops.

From Hardware Lane, I ventured into Little Collins Street before reaching the delightful Howey Place. The western side of Howey Place was part of Cole’s Book Arcade, which stretched from Collins to Bourke Streets and was probably the biggest bookshop in the world with over two million books between the 1890s and the 1920s. But there is not even a book in sight.

Walking through the historic Manchester Unity Arcade and to Manchester Lane, to find Manchester Café there. Haha! Now I’ve got Liverpool Lane and Manchester Lane. And Chelsea is actually a train station!