DISTANCE: 3km (2 miles)
TIME: A half day
START: Yagan Square
END: William Street
POINTS TO NOTE: While this walk can easily be done in an hour, the museums and galleries in the Cultural Centre alone could easily take up several days of your time.
From sweaty swamp to secluded suburb and then swinging nightspot, Northbridge has been on quite the journey over the last two centuries. In recent decades it has become known for after-dark venues, a thriving latte culture and an enforced detachment from the rest of the city, due to being on the wrong side of the tracks, quite literally.
But bohemian Northbridge – and the Cultural Centre that borders it – are no longer separated from the CBD by crude infrastructure, not since the Perth City Link project sent both the Fremantle railway line and Wellington Street Bus Station underground, and Yagan Square (for more information, click here) was built over the freshly healed scar.
Start in Yagan Square (for more information, click here) – between the now-subterranean Perth Busport and the city railway station. Exit the square to the east, onto Horseshoe Bridge, carefully cross the road and take the walkway via the Urban Orchard 1 [map] (a rooftop oasis and meeting spot, complete with communal vegetable plots and fruit trees) into Perth’s culture hub, which is not officially within Northbridge, but is a fitting neighbour.
The Urban Orchard community garden
Alamy
Art trail
The Art Gallery of Western Australia 2 [map] (www.artgallery.wa.gov.au; Wed–Mon 10am–5pm) is the main building to the right after you cross into the centre, its slab-sided face generally advertising the latest exhibition. Inside, several floors of modern, well-lit galleries display more than 1,000 works of art, including Australian and international paintings, sculpture, prints, crafts and decorative arts.
Ancient history
Across a pedestrianised section of James Street is the Western Australian Museum 3 [map] (www.museum.wa.gov.au; daily 9.30am–5pm) an elegant red-brick and sandstone building with a colonnaded upper floor. In WA, scientists have access to some of Earth’s oldest rocks and life forms, and a wealth of early man artefacts, including the Pilbara rock paintings.
In 1999, a fossil proving the earliest evidence of life on earth was discovered in WA’s Pilbara region. Now on display in the Dinosaur Gallery, it looks like a slab of red rock, but it holds stromatolites estimated to be 3.5 billion years old. Living versions still grow in the highly saline water of Hamelin Pool at Shark Bay (for more information, click here).
The museum has a pleasant coffee shop next to the Old Gaol, which was built by convicts in 1855–6 and is now crammed with memorabilia of Perth life since James Stirling’s 1827 expedition.
State Library of Western Australia
Alamy
Books and drama
Next door is the State Library 4 [map] (www.slwa.wa.gov.au; Mon–Thu 9am–8pm, Fri 9am–5.30pm, Sat–Sun 10am–5.30pm), where one wing is occupied by the Battye Library of Western Australian History, which contains state film and photographs. In front of the library, Akio Makigawa’s black-and-white sculpture Coalesce (its stepped form symbolises the stages of acquiring knowledge) has become a popular meeting place.
WA’s creative arts scene revolves around the Northbridge end of the Cultural Centre, location of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art 5 [map] (PICA; James Street, Northbridge; www.pica.org.au; Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, gallery Tue–Sun 11am–6pm), the Blue Room Theatre (53 James Street, Northbridge; www.blueroom.org.au), and the State Theatre Centre (174–176 William Street; www.ptt.wa.gov.au), home to the Heath Ledger Theatre, named in honour of the late Perth-born actor.
Brass Monkey Hotel
Alamy
Leaving the Cultural Centre, cross William Street by the beautiful Great Western Hotel building (built 1896) with its distinctive verandas, now rather rowdily occupied by the Brass Monkey 6 [map], a social mix-use space to eat, drink, host functions, watch sports and more.
Euro vision
On sleepy sunny days and long summer evenings, a Mediterranean atmosphere prevails in this area; the streets are ideal for early evening strolling, alfresco dining, dawdling and people watching.
The junction of William and James streets, the hub of the entertainment district, is a good place to sit over a coffee or bottle of wine and take Northbridge’s pulse. Lunch options include the excellent Bivouac (see 1 [map]), ideally followed by a sensational gelato from nearby Chichos where the flavours include jalapeno pineapple and green tea with caramelised white chocolate.
Gelato in hand, wander west along James Street and pass beneath the funky Arch artwork that straddles the roundabout at the junction with Lake Street. Continue west, past Cinema Paradiso (www.palacecinemas.com.au), where you can take in arthouse and international flicks in several classy European style theatres.
Perth Arena
iStock
Park life
Opposite Rosie O’Grady’s pub is Russell Square 7 [map], known to the Italian community as Parco dei Sospire (‘The Park of Sighs’). Rejuvenated in the 1990s, the grassy, tree-lined square is home to a bandstand, where concerts are regularly held, and 30 sculptures by local artists Greg James and Drago Dadich.
The cast-iron artworks represent WA’s development and Northbridge’s diversity: the granite galleon symbolises European influence, the pagoda the Asian community’s impact on the area, the bronze snake and bearded dragon reflect the natural environment, a child’s school bag hints of hope for the future, while fun and entertainment are represented by a bush hat, towel and sunglasses.
Plays and plazas
Duck left along Milligan Street and turn right on Roe Street to walk by Metro City 8 [map] (146 Roe Street; tel: 08-9228 0500; www.metroconcertclub.com), a buzzing culture and entertainment venue that stages everything from art exhibitions to theatre, DJs and live gigs – much edgier content than the Perth Arena opposite (for more information, click here).
The Hummus Club
The Hummus Club
Turn right on Fitzgerald Street, which leads to St Brigid’s Church and the Piazza Nanni, named after one of St Brigid’s long-serving parish priests.
Opposite is the start of the Aberdeen Street Heritage Precinct, celebrating one of Perth’s best-preserved streets, with colourful houses and shops in a range of architectural styles, some dating back to the gold rush era. A couple of blocks down, off to the left along Lake Street, is Plateia Hellas 9 [map] and the Nexus stone-and-water artwork formed from seven ribbed terrazzo columns, polished concrete pillars based on classical Greek architecture, interspersed with seven illuminated water jets. The square, which is especially attractive at night, was completed in 2003 to celebrate Northbridge’s Greek community.
At William Street, turn right and walk back towards your starting point, perusing the many tempting refreshment options, including the Hummus Club (see 2 [map]) and the magic little speakeasy, the Mechanic’s Institute (see 3 [map]).
Food and drink
1 Bivouac Canteen & Bar
198 William Street; tel: 08-9227 0883; www.bivouac.com.au; Tue–Sat noon–late; $$$
A super tasty Eastern influenced and Mediterranean menu awaits at this uber cool William Street favourite, run by palette provocateurs who travel the world in search of new recipes and flavours, but source their ingredients locally. The restaurant is also a gallery, with the work of local artists showcased on the walls.
2 Hummus Club
258 William Street; tel: 08-9227 8215; www.thehummusclub.com; Tue–Sat noon–10pm, Sun 5–10pm; $$
Sensational Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine is on offer here, in relaxed and non-pretentious surrounds. Apart from the signature hummus, get stuck into the Zaatar fried chicken or spiced beef, and finish the experience off with a baklava ice cream sandwich.
3 Mechanic’s Institute
Rear of 222 William Street; tel: 08-9228 4189; www.mechanicsinstitutebar.com.au; daily noon-midnight; $$
Tucked back from the main thoroughfare of William’s Street, and a million miles away from the boorish Brass Monkey opposite, this classy boutique bar is named after the establishments that were set up in the 1800s to provide life-changing education to the working class. Expect brilliant beers and burgers.