1 October 2021:

St Kilda Junction was once our version of Times Square or Piccadilly Circus (albeit more spread out) dominated by big neon signs, which even covered up the dramatic 1889 Junction Hotel. Traffic just made its own way through, then there was roundabout but only 1950-56, then the MMBW plan was for overpasses and tower blocks – ouch- which thankfully didn’t happen, but the whole area was blasted apart in 1966-69 to put Queensway into an underpass instead. The grand Junction Hotel survived, with the tram and traffic wiggling around it for a few more years until the whole west side of what was High Street, all shops, and the retail heart of St Kilda, was demolished to widen the road (also good for traffic). Unfortunately it was all designed by road engineers, with no aesthetics, and with minimum demolition, so But jeezus it could be better, it’s confusing for motorists, bad for pedestrians and just scrappy trees and shrubs, though I noticed they’ve added flowers. At least they kept the trams. All photos via facebook.

5 October 2024

Ever wondered why St Kilda doesnt have a shopping strip like every other suburb ? The answer is that it did, a whole kilometer of shops pubs banks etc that ran from the junction to Carlisle Street, called High Street, but the entire west side was demolished in the early 1970s to create whats now the much wider south end of St Kilda Road. Found some great images on Facebook, first is 1971, looking up from Carlisle Street, followed by current streetview. Most of the right (east) side is still there, but no verandahs and lots of trees, and the domed pub is now apartments. Then two pics by Mike Irwin looking south from the top of the hill, before and after. Then a postcard from the 50s, the post office on the left still there, also now apartments. Then a couple from Port Phillip Library, showing it was the usual mix of Victorian Edwardian and Interwar things. It was all completed by 1973. Im not going to cry too much about it, imagine if the road still had a narrow section, with shops etc ! But I do wish they had maybe demolished more on the west side to make room for some consistent new buildings, its all side walls and odd shape lots, and now sprouting random towers.

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