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    Correspondence between Walter Coates and Public Works Committee, City of Melbourne, re Baptist Lane, 21 July 1871, courtesy of Public Record Office Victoria, Victorian Archives Centre.
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Baptist Place

Baptist Place, previously Baptist Lane, leads south off Little Collins Street between Russell and Swanston streets. The laneway was probably named after the heritage-listed Baptist chapel on Collins Street, to which Baptist Place once led. The brick chapel was designed by John Gill and built in 1846, and its Corinthian portico, designed by Reed and Barnes, was added in 1862. During the Depression, the church embarked on a building program to produce revenue and jobs for the community. In 1874, the lane also contained a fire brigade station and Scotts School. In 2008, Baptist Place contained a café, the Oakford-on-Collins Hotel, a free Health Centre and accommodation for the homeless. A community mural echoed its earlier philanthropic functions.

Edwina Byrne

References
Sands & McDougall’s commercial and general Melbourne directory, Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, 1860. Details
'Baptist Place H7822, File 1746', in Victorian Heritage Register On-Line, 2000, http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/hvolr.nsf. Details
'Central Melbourne: Lanes A-B', in Amendment C105 - CBD Laneways Review, City of Melbourne, 2007, http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=195&pg=3065&bp=1902&coll=8. Details
Bate, Weston, Essential but unplanned: The story of Melbourne's lanes, State Library of Victoria and the City of Melbourne, Melbourne, 1994. Details