This was published 5 years ago
How Kings Cross has changed
Large property owners and developers are now firmly entrenched as the kings of the cross, displacing nightclub owners such as John Ibrahim. The introduction of the lockout laws in early 2014 dealt a blow to the late-night party scene, and the COVID-19 restrictions have been another nail in the coffin. The end of lockout laws in Kings Cross this week signals a further gentrification of the area - not a return to its wilder days.
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The iconic Coca-Cola sign undergoing an update. 27th June 2015.Credit:James Alcock
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A prostitute at work in William Street in Sydney's Kings Cross on 6th February 1985. Credit:Nigel McNeil
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A group of Mods outside the Rock Garden music venue in Kings Cross, Sydney on 21st August 1980. Credit:Julia Featherstone
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Ambulance officers tend to a patient in Kings Cross one year on from the murder of Thomas Kelly. 29th June 2013. Credit:Steve Lunam
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The first weekend of the new 1.30am lockout rules in Kings Cross. Dreamgirls strip club entertains its "locked in" patrons. 28th February 2014.Credit:Steve Lunam
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People join the "Reclaim the Streets to Protest Lockout Laws" protest march as it heads from Hyde Park down William Street to Kings Cross on 13th September 2015.Credit:Michele Mossop
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Mike Todd and Elizabeth Taylor arrive at the Hampton Court Hotel in Kings Cross on 6th November 1957.Credit:Barry Newberry
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Victoria Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, 3rd May 1966.Credit:N. Herfort
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Kings Cross street scene on 14th January 1949.Credit:Fairfax Archives
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El Alamein fountain in Kings Cross is opened by the Lord Mayor H.F. Jenson. 11th November 1961.Credit:Fairfax Archives
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The El Alamain fountain in Fitroy Gardens, Kings Cross is nearing completion. But the fountain which due to be unveiled next week is already bringing comment from the citizens of the "cross". Such comments as the Kings Cross hedgehog and the Kings Cross Sputnik were overhead. Mr. Eric Williams of East Roseville screws in some of the brass sprays. 23rd October 1961.Credit:Fairfax Archives
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An eeerily quiet view of Kings Cross as hospitality venues continue to suffer during the lockdown on 11th May 2020. Credit:Brook Mitchell
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New portable Urinals have been set up in key areas in Sydney. Charles Waterstreet at a urinal located outside Kings Cross Police Station. 15th April 2001.Credit:Steve Lunam
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John (centre) and Emanouel (right) outside the Love Machine in Kings Cross where they work as spruikers. 20th February 1995.Credit:Brendan Esposito
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Women shopping in Sydney's Kings Cross on 11th September 1954.Credit:Ken Redshaw
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Punks and Mods at the Rock Garden music venue in Kings Cross on 21st August 1980. Credit:Julia Featherstone
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Mrs. Margaret Osbourne who has run a small souvenir shop in Macleay Street for five years says thing are getting worse. "The Cross is like a dead fish", Mrs Osbourne said. "Even the El Alamein fountain is turned off 90 per cent of the time. "In the five years I have been here, business had dropped by more than half", she says. 28th June 1978.Credit:Fairfax Archives
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Miss J Stein works the Kings Cross Kiosk on the Mark Foys Patio in Sydney on 5th July 1956.Credit:Hugh Ross
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A Kings Cross resident feeds a gang of Cockatoos that gather outside his kitchen window in the late Autumn afternoon sunlight. 29th May 2019.Credit:Peter Rae
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Night time in Kings Cross 10th February 2021. Credit:Rhett Wyman