Drummond Street Victorian Terraces
One block west of Lygon Street lies one of Melbourne's best-kept architectural secrets: Drummond Street, a wide, tree-lined boulevard flanked by some of the grandest Victorian terrace houses in Australia. Walking its length feels like stepping into a 19th-century London street — only with better coffee waiting at either end.
A Boom-Era Boulevard
Drummond Street is lined with remarkable examples of Melbourne's Boom-period Classical architecture, built during the gold-rush prosperity of the 1880s and 1890s. Named standouts include Drummond Terrace (nos 93–105, built 1890–91), Lothian Terrace (nos 175–179, built 1865–69), and Rosaville at no. 46, built in 1883 — each featuring ornate ironwork lacework verandahs, rendered facades and soaring ceilings.
The terraces were built as prestigious inner-city residences and many have since been converted to boutique accommodation, university housing or mixed-use spaces, but their street presence remains gloriously intact. The Melbournia Terrace, a row of seven grand three-storey houses from the 1890s, is considered one of the longest and most impressive Classical terraces in the city.
How to Explore It
The best approach is a slow, south-to-north walk along Drummond Street from Grattan Street to Elgin Street — a 15-minute stroll that rewards anyone with even a passing interest in heritage architecture. Bring a camera: the ironwork lacework verandahs photograph beautifully in morning light when the sun hits the rendered facades from the east.
Carlton's public spaces were planned in the Victorian era as garden squares — rectilinear green spaces modelled on fashionable European urban design. Macarthur and Murchison Squares, just off Drummond Street, are considered two of the most intact squares from this important phase of Melbourne's urban development.
Drummond Street Victorian Terraces on video
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