Melbourne’s laneways are iconic and help give the city its world renowned status as a culture capital. Here at Laneway Learning the laneway culture has given us a lot of inspiration (just look at our name!) and we’ve made our home in some of the best laneway cafes and bars around.
But as much as Melburnians love our laneways, how many of us know the story behind them? Check out a new interview, How Melbourne Found its Laneways, in Broadsheet. They talked with a local architect and urban designer about the birth of Melbourne as we now know it. In it they discuss how as recently as the 1980s, Melbourne’s CBD was basically empty after the offices shut for the day. When the recession hit in the 90s rent prices in the CBD dropped enough for the younger, ‘hipster’, generation to take advantage and move in, bringing their culture of studios, galleries, boutiques and bars with them. A change in liquor licensing also helped.
It’s a great read if you’re interested in the recent history of our great city!
The image of a Melbourne laneway is borrowed and edited with thanks from Kae Yen Wong under a Creative Commons license.