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Princes Walk Vaults
1 - 9 Batman Avenue, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B5585
Princes Walk Vaults
1 - 9 Batman Avenue, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B5585
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Statement of Significance
The Princes Walk Vaults and the extension of Batman Avenue, were constructed by the City of Melbourne in 1890, two years after the completion of the present Princes Bridge in 1888, designed by Granger and D'Ebro. The designer is uncertain, but may have been A W McKenzie, whose signature appears on the drawings. The vaults are about 5 metres deep, and do not extend under the entire roadway. Located in a position long occupied by pleasure cruise and ferry operators, they were intended for rental purposes, and were occupied by refreshment rooms, boat-builders, and cruise companies in the 1890s, and have remained serving this function up to the present. The Princes Walk Vaults are of architectural, aesthetic and historic significance at the State level, principally for their long assocition with Princes Bridge, which is considered the most historically significant bridge in Melbourne. Architecturally and aesthetically, the design is complementary to, and integrated with, that of Princes Bridge, but is generally simpler and less refined. The rock faced bluestone wall, with its engaged piers and arched openings deminishing in size, provide a striking backdrop to the river, and create a precinct with a strongly historical character. Historically, the vaults are important for providing a home for the various pleasure cruise companies and ferries that have used that part of the river bank for their main landing point for much of Melbourne's history. The roadway above, which is an extension of Batman Avenue, is of interest as providing a road link to the north bank of the Yarra since its construction, and for being the terminus of the first electric tram service to run directly into the city (the Hawthorn Tramway Trust service began in 1916). The cast iron lamps of the balustrade are of particular importance as the only set of 19th century street lamps to survive in the city. Their design most likely provided the inspiration for the street lamps erected in most city streets in the mid 1920s, of which only some examples survive, mostly in the Paris end of Collins Street, and on Princes Bridge itself.
Classified: 06/06/1994
Classified: 06/06/1994
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MITRE TAVERNVictorian Heritage Register H0464
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MELBOURNE SAVAGE CLUBVictorian Heritage Register H0025
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FORMER LONDON CHARTERED BANKVictorian Heritage Register H0022
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