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The main street of Melbourne boasts of the best for the visitors. The Swanston Street Melbourne is among the major thoroughfare of the busy city and is a major attraction among the visitors for its facilities. The Swanston Street is a part of the Hoddle Grid, which makes up the layout of the major streets in the busy central business area. The street is named after Captain Charles Swanston, a Tasmanian banker and prominent member of the Port Phillip Association. The Swanston Street stretches from the north to the south of the city. The street lies to the east of rectangular Hodle Grid. The magnetic Yarra River remains its companion till its southernmost extremity before it becomes St Kilda Road. Till the 1990’s the Swanston Street was a major thoroughfare of Melbourne with the traffic beating down from the northern suburbs onto St Kilda Road, but after the decade of the 80’s the street was closed down for the daytime private traffic between the Flinders and La Trobe Streets. This section is popularly known as the Swanston Walk with 9 tramlines running along the road. Swanston Street abodes the highest frequency of trams in whole of Melbourne. As a matter of fact there are two tram stations on the streets; the Flinders Street Station and an underground station beneath the famous Melbourne Central shopping Center. A walk down the street will take you to some of the important monuments of Melbourne which includes the Melbourne University, St Paul's Cathedral, Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, the Melbourne Town Hall, the State Library of Victoria, the City Square, the Melbourne Central and QV Village shopping centers, the pub Young and Jacksons and the Hi-Fi Bar as well, a prominent live music venue. The recent developments carried out by the Melbourne City Council have helped in beautification of the image of the coveted Swanston Street. Historically, the street was infamous among the tourists for its problems regarding the homelessness and loiterers. Roadside fast food outlets, large number of discount stores and the sex shops also created plethora of problems. But recently the developments including the newly opened shops and shopping malls and other enticing facilities have made this street a hit among the travelers. The street has stood the test of time and has been the witness to loads of events. Now it is among the most attractive tourist spots in Melbourne, which draws many tourists towards it.
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