Lygon Street

Last updated

Alfresco dining along Lygon Street Lygon Street, Carlton.jpg
Alfresco dining along Lygon Street
Lygon Street, Carlton, looking south east Lygon St, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.jpg
Lygon Street, Carlton, looking south east
The street at night Lygon st melbourne z.jpg
The street at night

Lygon Street is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, running through the inner northern suburbs of Carlton, Carlton North, Princes Hill and Brunswick East. Lygon Street is synonymous with the Italian community of Melbourne, forming the nexus point of Little Italy. It is home to many Italian restaurants and alfresco cafés.

Contents

Geography

Lygon Street runs north–south through the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne. At its southernmost end, it connects to Russell Street in the Hoddle Grid; it then proceeds northward, through Carlton, Carlton North, and Brunswick East, to its intersection with Albion Street. Although the roadway itself continues, it is renamed Holmes Street for the stretch between Albion Street and Moreland Road, and later renamed again to Nicholson Street for the stretch between Moreland Road and the street's terminus at Bell Street. (Note that this is not continuous with the Nicholson Street which runs through the Melbourne CBD, Fitzroy, Carlton and Brunswick East.) North of Park Street, the street numbers restart at 1.

Tram routes 1 and 6 run along Lygon Street between Elgin Street, Carlton, and Albion Street, Brunswick East.

Italian restaurant district

The Italian restaurant district synonymous with Lygon Street occupies the few blocks between Queensberry Street and Elgin Street in Carlton. It is populated by the Italian families which migrated here in the 1950s, and holds the record of being the first place to install an espresso machine in Australia. It is also considered the birthplace of the 'Aussie' pizza. [1] The area is heavily European in nature, and is the home of the yearly Lygon Street Festa, one of Australia's largest outdoor street festivals. The La Mama Theatre and Courthouse Theatre are also in this area, as is the heritage-listed neon sign at Borsari's Corner, named after Italian cyclist Nino Borsari, on the corner of Grattan Street. Toto's Pizza House, the first pizzeria established in Australia, has been located at the southern end of Lygon Street continuously since its opening in 1961. [2]

Other points of interest

Melbourne Trades Hall occupies the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street. Melbourne General Cemetery is situated on the western side of Lygon Street in North Carlton, between Cemetery Road and Macpherson Street. The two blocks running between Grattan Street and Elgin Street are known for shopping and boutiques. Cinema Nova was established in 1992. [3] [4] A new addition is the East Brunswick Club which opened its doors as a music venue at the northern end of the street in May 2006. Lamb's Souvlaki is a popular restaurant on the strip which operates 24 hours a day.

Lygon Street was the main headquarters of an Italian Australian criminal organisation called The Carlton Crew.[ citation needed ]

See also

Australia road sign W5-29.svg   Australian Roadsportal

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Brunswick is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek local government area. Brunswick recorded a population of 24,896 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coburg, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Merri-bek local government areas. Coburg recorded a population of 26,574 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Carlton is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, three kilometres north of the Melbourne central business district within the City of Melbourne local government area. Carlton recorded a population of 16,055 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne tram route 6</span>

Melbourne tram route 6 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Moreland to Glen Iris. The 19.2-kilometre (11.9 mi) route is operated out of Brunswick and Malvern depots with Z, B and D class trams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholson Street</span> Street in Melbourne, Victoria

Nicholson Street is a street in inner Melbourne. It is named after William Nicholson, then member of the Legislative Council, and later Premier of Victoria from 1859 to 1860.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Road</span> Road in Melbourne, Australia

Sydney Road is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlton North</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Carlton North is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Yarra local government areas. Carlton North recorded a population of 6,177 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick East, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Brunswick East is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek local government area. Brunswick East recorded a population of 13,279 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick West, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Brunswick West is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business district, located within the City of Merri-bek local government area. Brunswick West recorded a population of 14,746 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Street, Melbourne</span> Road in Melbourne, Victoria

Victoria Street is one of the major thoroughfares of inner Melbourne, running east–west for over six kilometres between Munster Terrace in North Melbourne and the Yarra River. The road is known as Victoria Parade for over one-and-a-half kilometres of its length, distinguishable with a wide reservation and tramway down the middle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne cable tramway system</span> Cable car public transport system in Melbourne, Australia

The Melbourne cable tramway system was a cable car public transport system, which operated between 1885 and 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne tram route 1</span>

Melbourne tram route 1 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from East Coburg to South Melbourne Beach. The 13.2-kilometre (8.2 mi) route is operated out of Brunswick depot with Z and B class trams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borsari's Corner</span>

Borsari's Corner is at the intersection of Lygon and Grattan Streets, in Carlton, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Brunswick</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The City of Brunswick was a local government area in the inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprised the suburbs of Brunswick, Brunswick East and West Brunswick. It ceased to exist on 22 June 1994, when its council was disbanded by the Kennett Government and replaced with appointed commissioners, who oversaw its amalgamation with the City of Coburg and parts of the City of Broadmeadows, to create the City of Moreland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Italy, Melbourne</span> Italian cultural precinct around Lygon Street, Melbourne, Australia

Little Italy in Victoria, Australia, is a Little Italy cultural precinct of the Italian community of Melbourne. It is situated along Lygon Street in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Carlton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toto's Pizza House</span>

Toto's Pizza House (Toto's) was the first pizzeria established in Melbourne, Australia, now a small chain of Pizza stores. Toto's opened for business on 7 July 1961 in Lygon Street, Carlton, Victoria, where the business remained until closing in 2020 due to Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns. Toto's was originally owned by Salvatore Della Bruna, who operated the business in partnership with Franco Fera and in 1968 with Silvio Tuli and Salvatore Mercogliano. Successful, and well respected, business man Mario Bandera also played a large part. In 1983 the business was purchased by the most recent owner and Managing Director, Sami Mazloum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nino Borsari</span> Italian cyclist

Nino Borsari was an Italian cyclist who won a gold medal in the 4000 metres team pursuit event at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian community of Melbourne</span> Ethnic group located in Melbourne

The Italian community of Melbourne is the second largest ethnic group in Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, second to the Anglo-Celtic Australians ethnic group. The 2011 Census counted that of the 185,402 residents that were born in Italy who live in Australia, 68,823 lived in Melbourne, which was the highest percentage of the country at 37.1%. The same could be said for the total Australian population of Italian ancestry, with 279,112 of the 916,121 (30.4%) listed as Melbourne residents, which is the highest Italian population in Australia and the Oceanic continent per city.

The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia

References

  1. "The evolution of Lygon Street: Has Melbourne's little Italy had its day?". The Age. 12 October 2018.
  2. John Beveridge (2007), "Toto's fame set to spread worldwide, Herald Sun, 14 June, page 72.
  3. "About Us at Cinema Nova". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  4. "Where to Find Melbourne's Best Cinemas".