# Rowe Street, Sydney

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Street in Sydney, Australia

The remaining part of Rowe Street, Sydney

**Rowe Street** is a narrow [laneway](/source/Laneway) in the [central business district](/source/Sydney_central_business_district) of [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), Australia. Originally running between [Castlereagh Street](/source/Castlereagh_Street) and [Pitt Street](/source/Pitt_Street), what remains is now just a short lane running east–west off Pitt Street.

## History

Rowe Street was named in honour of [Thomas Rowe](/source/Thomas_Rowe) (1829–1899), a prominent [architect](/source/Architect) in the [colony of New South Wales](/source/Colony_of_New_South_Wales).[1] Originally, Rowe Street ran between Castlereagh Street and Pitt Street, parallel to [Martin Place](/source/Martin_Place).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

The street was a centre for Sydney's bohemian life from the late 19th century until the 1970s, described in 1931 as "the primrose path of dalliance". It may have been the birthplace of Sydney's famous [push movement](/source/Sydney_Push).[2] The precinct included the original [Theatre Royal](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Sydney), the [Playbox Theatre](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Playbox_Theatre,_Sydney&action=edit&redlink=1), art studios and galleries, restaurants, cafés and [coffee shops](/source/Caf%C3%A9), many well-known fashion, clothing, interior design, and jewellery shops. [Rowe Street Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rowe_Street_Records&action=edit&redlink=1) was one of the first specialist import record stores in Australia.[3]

In 1956 [Mervyn Horton](/source/Mervyn_Horton), the gay editor, art collector, and philanthropist opened Galleria Espresso, an espresso bar and art gallery at 27 Rowe Street.[4]

Most of the Rowe Street precinct, including the palatial [Hotel Australia](/source/Hotel_Australia), was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for the [MLC Centre](/source/MLC_Centre), a monolithic modernist edifice designed by Sydney architect [Harry Seidler](/source/Harry_Seidler).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Description

Today, Rowe Street runs east–west off Pitt Street. The only remaining building from the 19th century is [The Sydney Club](/source/The_Sydney_Club) on the corner of Pitt and Rowe Streets (previously known as the Millions Club).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## See also

- [History of Sydney](/source/History_of_Sydney)

- [Australian Roads portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Australian_Roads)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Freeland, J. M. (1976). ["Rowe, Thomas (1829–1899)"](https://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060077b.htm). *[Australian Dictionary of Biography](/source/Australian_Dictionary_of_Biography)*. National Centre of Biography, [Australian National University](/source/Australian_National_University). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-522-84459-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-522-84459-7). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1833-7538](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1833-7538). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [70677943](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/70677943). Retrieved 26 December 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Rowe-Street"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article159792373). *[Sydney Mail](/source/The_Sydney_Mail)*. Vol. XXXIX, no. 1012. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 29 July 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Remembering Rowe Street](http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/inspired/rowest/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Queer Places](http://www.elisarolle.com/queerplaces/klmno/Mervyn%20Horton.html) Retrieved 17 July 2023.

## External links

- ["Rowe Street"](https://dictionaryofsydney.org/place/rowe_street). *[Dictionary of Sydney](/source/Dictionary_of_Sydney)*. 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2015. [[CC-By-SA](/source/Creative_Commons_license)]

[33°52′06″S 151°12′30″E / 33.8682°S 151.2084°E / -33.8682; 151.2084](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Rowe_Street,_Sydney&params=33.8682_S_151.2084_E_region:AU-NSW_type:city)

v t e Streets of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia City of Sydney Albion Street Alfred Street Bathurst Street Bridge Street Bayswater Road Broadway Castlereagh Street Chalmers Street City Road Clarence Street Cleveland Street College Street Crown Street Eddy Avenue Elizabeth Street George Street Glebe Point Road Goulburn Street Grosvenor Street Harris Street Hay Street Hunter Street Kent Street King Street Lime Street Liverpool Street Macquarie Street Market Street Martin Place Oxford Street Park Street Phillip Street Pitt Street Queen's Square Rowe Street Stanley Street Sussex Street Victoria Street Whitlam Square William Street York Street Suburban roads Anzac Parade Appian Way Bangor Bypass Barrenjoey Road Blacktown Road Bondi Road Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation City West Link Cumberland Highway Darling Street Epping Road General Holmes Drive Gore Hill Freeway Great North Road Great Western Highway Heathcote Road Henry Lawson Drive The Horsley Drive Hume Highway James Ruse Drive Jeffrey Street King Georges Road King Street Lane Cove Road New South Head Road Norton Street Old South Head Road Old Windsor Road Parramatta Road Pennant Hills Road Pittwater Road Princes Highway Prospect Highway Richmond Road Ryde Road Southern Cross Drive Syd Einfeld Drive Taren Point Road Victoria Road Windsor Road Wolseley Road

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rowe Street, Sydney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowe_Street%2C_Sydney) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowe_Street%2C_Sydney?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.