Council takes action

When Sir Bernard Evans, architect and city councillor, was Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 1961, he was firmly of the view that a city square should be created between the town hall and the cathedral, instead of a civic plaza with a new town hall on top of the rail yards opposite Flinders Street Station, or a space to the north or east of the town hall; but he could not convince his fellow councillors.^[3] In 1966, when the Queen Victoria Building (on the corner of Swanston and Collins streets) and the adjacent City Club Hotel (opposite the town hall) had been demolished by a developer pending future development, Council finally decided that it was a good site for the long debated City Square, and purchased the land.^[4][5][6][7]

Then began the process of acquiring properties along Swanston Street between the town hall and the cathedral, and east up to an including the Regent Theatre. Buildings purchased included the Cathedral Hotel, Cathedral House, Guy's Buildings (demolished 1969), Green's Building and the Town Hall Chambers (demolished 1971) as well as Wentworth House and Regency House on Flinders Lane.^[8] After the Regent Theatre closed in 1970, Council bought that too, intending to demolish it for a larger square and a hotel tower to help fund the whole project, but it was saved by a union ban imposed in 1974.^[9]

By 1968, a temporary square of grass and paving was installed on the site of the Victoria Building and City Club Hotel, extended by the early 1970s up to Flinders Lane, then east up to Regent Place. In February 1976, a performance by the band AC/DC was filmed there for a video clip for the single "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".^[10] The video was filmed on the same day as the well-known version filmed on the back of a flatbed truck travelling down Swanston Street.^[11]

Permanent square

Queen Elizabeth opening City Square on 28 May, 1980

In 1976, an architectural competition was launched by Melbourne City Council to design a permanent square, which was won by Denton Corker Marshall architects. The design, responding to the complex brief, included a giant video screen, restaurants, shops and outdoor cafes, connected by a glazed canopy, a sunken amphitheatre, graffiti wall, reflecting pool, water wall and cascades as well as the open area of the main square. Most of the elements and the large flat area were clad with sawn bluestone. The Burke and Wills statue (1864) by Charles Summers, which had originally been at the intersection of Collins and Russell streets, was positioned (somewhat ironically) on top of the cascades.

Following its opening by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 May 1980, the new square attracted criticism from the general public.^[12] The Age newspaper reported, "in interviews with newspaper reporters and on talk-back radio, many Melburnians have blasted their long awaited City Square for what they see as its bareness, the noise from its controversial video matrix screen and the starkness of the glazed steel canopy running along the Regent Theatre Wall".^[13] A large yellow steel sculpture titled Vault by Ron Robertson-Swann, which was commissioned as a centrepiece for the square, was relocated to Batman Park in July 1981 following heated public debate.^[14][15]

City Square prior to its 2017 demolition

On 14 January 1981, a 12-year-old boy swimming in the water fountain pool was sucked inside the fountain's filter system and was presumed drowned. Despite being trapped for more than 40 minutes, firemen managed to rescue the boy against the odds.^[16]

In the following decade, the square was increasingly seen as a failure.^[17]

Second square

In the mid-1990s, the eastern half of the square was sold to developer David Marriner for the development of the Westin Hotel, in a complex deal that saw the restoration of the Regent Theatre, to be managed by Marriner's company Staged Developments.^[17] The restored theatre reopened in 1996.^[18] Between 1997 and 2000, the remaining area of the square was redeveloped with a much simpler plan, with bars and cafes under the hotel, some seating and the large oak tree transplanted to the Collins Street corner, and a large flat area of granitic gravel intended for events, plus a 450-space carpark underneath.^[19][17] A long linear water feature by glass artist Denise Sullivan along the east side, and a water wall known as the John Mockridge Fountain on Collins Street were installed, and plane trees lined the Swanston Street edge.^[20][19]

Excavation at City Square for Town Hall station, 2019

A cast bronze statue of a small dog created by Melbourne artist Pamela Irving and titled Larry La Trobe was located in the north-west corner in 1992. The statue became widely known after its theft in 1995; following a long public campaign, a revamped version of the statue was recast and reinstalled in 1996.^[21] In 2003, raised grassed areas were added to soften the space and provide informal seating areas.^[22] With the substantial reduction of its area and the opening of the nearby Federation Square soon after in 2002, the civic importance of the City Square was diminished.

In October 2011, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle ordered an eviction of about 100 Occupy Melbourne protesters from the City Square, which was enforced by up to 400 riot police.^[23]