Thursday 17 August 2017

Meyers Place- how green can a laneway be?



You know something serious is up when a boringly modest grey wall turns suddenly into a stunning green oasis that captivated both innocent passersby and true locals. We see harlequin bug flashing its body of metallic sheen amidst the rainforest habitat, butterfly dances its ways around those strange and common insects (and what not). It is a mural went alive with both lovely and bizarre items. We have brilliantly red ladybug, gracefully flowing waterfall and brightly coloured flowers of unknown species. Comfortably snuggled beside those beautiful things are some out-of-place junks: a discarded Nintendo Gameboy controller and some bulky, superseded computer monitor being chucked away pathetically like some hazardous waste.


A giant green mantid with its tilted triangular head stared straight ahead with bulging eyes, and a weird tropical “corpse flower” displays its exotic charm like some outrageous monument. It is a breathtaking painting formed with more than a dozen shades of green, a gigantic public art piece by one of Melbourne’s most beloved street artists Makatron on his few favourite themes: nature and living things.  

This previously unassuming laneway is home to a few eateries and cocktail bars. There is a home-style restaurant The Waiters Club serving delightful Italian cuisine, an Argentinian eatery San Telmo, Onsen Ma a sanctuary offering Japanese bathhouse experience, and Lily Blacks an exciting cocktail bar renowned for its creative beverages range. The lane also houses Lane’s Edge, a pretty little eating place surrounded by luscious greenery, and the Loop Roof with its enchanting garden secretively nestled at level three.


Meyers Place celebrated its victory recently after winning one of the much-coveted four spots in the City of Melbourne’s Green Your Laneway Program. It was no easy win, but an outcome driven by the collective force of the laneway’s traders and business owners who actively campaigned and galvanized support for public votes for a good many months.


Meyers Place now has all the legitimate reasons (plus funding) to paint itself insanely green. One of the first transformative steps is to do it literally by brushing its wall using the right colour. More genuine greening initiatives will soon be visibly carried out, from traditional pot and tree planting, to the more challenging cascading and vertical greening efforts involving climbers and creepers. 


Meyers Place will soon make a name for itself as Melbourne Metropolitan’s latest green gallery and an unmistakably leafy spot to be watched out for!


Where: Meyers Place, connecting Little Collins and Bourke Street at the East end