Repost this day 2019:
Some #traminfrastructure : this is the ‘Grand Union’ #tramcrossing at the corner of #HawthornRoad and #BalaclavaRoad in #NorthCaulfield. Just an ordinary intersection, but when the #PrahranandMalvernTramwaysTrust was building the electric tram network in the south east burbs in the 1910s, they decided they needed to be able to turn #trams in any direction right here, partly to get to Caulfield racecourse, party to get to the depot, and in the early days, the routes were quite different, with a number converging on St Kilda, swamping the beach, Luna Park etc with Edwardian masses on the Saturday #halfholiday.
Don’t know where the Grand Union term comes from, but it means connections in all directions, and this is the only one in Melbourne and it’s heritage listed.
Storey of Melbourne 