Federation Square

Federation Square is a mixed-use development in the inner city of Melbourne, covering an area of and centred on three major public spaces – St. Paul's Court, The Square, and The Atrium. Built on a concrete deck above busy railway lines, it is located at the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street/St Kilda Road in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to Flinders Street railway station.HistoryBackgroundMelbourne's first public square, an initiative of the Melbourne City Council was the City Square which dates back to 1968, was considered by many to be a planning failure. Its redevelopment in the 1990s failed to address serious flaws in its design as a public space and it was during this decade that the first plans for a new square were hatched by the Victorian state government.First plansThe site selected was immediately south of the Hoddle Grid and included the Princes Gate Towers of the former Gas and Fuel Corporation, Jolimont Yard and the Princes Bridge railway station (which was itself the former site of a 19th-century morgue). The government sought to remove what were considered to be two of Melbourne's great eyesores, demolishing the 1960s Gas and Fuel Corporation buildings which obstructed a vista of heritage buildings along Flinders Steet including St Paul's Cathedral. The project was managed by the Victorian Government's Major Projects Unit, and a use concept was developed that reflected the way Melbourne and Victorian citizens used the city and the north and south banks of the river.