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Degraves Street Subway

Also known as Campbell Arcade, Degraves Street Subway was built to provide a subway exit from Flinders Street Station and relieve commuter congestion on Flinders and Swanston streets. First proposed in 1926, building began in 1952 and cost £300 000. It was opened to much fanfare in 1955 and admired for its 'black granite columns, pink wall tiles, neat shops and show windows'. While it remains an icon of 1950s public works architecture, since 1994 it has also been home to fringe artists, who use the arcade's large display cases as exhibition space.

Barbara Russell