‘In imagining what the city could be, enchantment lies at the heart. Enchantment asks us to rediscover and reanimate social tissues and repair the severances between us. The desire to reconnect lurks everywhere, bursting to get out given the chance. It expresses itself best in small acts of daily and ordinary consideration. These seek to resolve any fissure between being ‘me’, the individual, and being ‘us’, the collective… At its core this means letting the city… cast a spell, because we are surprised by an open response.’ Charles Landry – The Art of City-Making

As part of Pride’s theme of ‘Reinvention’, I spoke to Perth City Councillor, Elena Evangeli, about Northbridge as she remembers, and what the future of Perth’s cultural centre might look like.

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Elena grew up as part of the Hellenic Community, based opposite Russell Square. Her family business was Plakas on James Street, and she spent much of her childhood working in WA’s first kebab house. After running Plakas, Elena’s father and uncle opened the Top Hat Club upstairs, a cabaret venue that went on to become Connections in 1974…

‘Northbridge has lost its glamour of 20 or 30 years ago. Northbridge in the ’80s was a magical place… I came onto the council because I was disillusioned with the district not being what it used to be. It wasn’t the Northbridge I grew up with…’

Revisited
The history of Northbridge really epitomises reinvention: a swampland in the 1890s, a trade and manufacturing hub in the 1900s, and a ‘first-stop’ for migrant communities stretching through waves of incoming Mediterranean, Asian, Latin American, and African peoples; Northbridge has been a place where difference is celebrated, and where the unexpected can appear at random.

Through the 60’s and 70’s, land reserved for a freeway led to a residential decline. ‘Houses were converted to restaurants, which led to the boast ‘more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the southern hemisphere” in the 1980’s (northbridgehistory.wa.gov.au).

As suburban centres came into their own in the 90’s, Northbridge was drained of some of its vibrancy (and business confidence); however, as Elena points out, ‘8 years ago businesses were exiting the district – now they’re now beginning to come back’.

I asked the question why many plans released to the public by the Perth City Council don’t seem to materialise; an example being the idea for a performing arts district on the foreshore:

The Perth City Council ‘acts more as a local government body, and is subject to the state government.’ This is in contrast, she says, with Brisbane, which in the 1980’s was given more legislative control – allowing the city to transform itself and respond to change. ‘This means, that the vast majority of development land is state government owned, and getting PCC projects off the ground requires full support’ (from the state government and agencies such as Landcorp). ‘For example, the plan for removing the car park outside the concert hall was never proceeded with because of this reason.’ It seems that there is a legislative hurdle in getting any project off the ground.

Revival
Strolling through the Cultural Centre on Artrage opening night, the playful and outspoken nature of the district is immediately visible. As members of Collaborative Street Projections produce a 20m high installation in front of your eyes, 50 or so people in the Silent DJ area dance – both oblivious to and energised by the crowd looking on. Up the steps, the work of French photographer, Yann Arthus-Bertrand is illuminated in the Earth From Above outdoor exhibition.

A few weeks earlier for ‘Popsicle’, Perth’s fashion-conscious were sent on almost maniacal magnet-collecting missions scouring the newly-refurbished arcades and fashion outlets for retail delights (and some truly stand-out fridge magnets). ‘Popsicle’ was a pop-up retail event by the William Street Collective that put the spotlight on Northbridge’s growing fashion and retail businesses.

Working as a member of the Business Improvement Group, Elena points out that ‘there are some people doing great work in the area’, including the Big N Group, which advocates and promotes Northbridge to locals and visitors.

There is currently a range of projects aimed at connecting people to the district through street scaping and legislation changes. These include:

1. Expansion of the special zoning between Roe and Francis streets to allow for higher buildings;
2. Building Northbridge Piazza, which will act as a centre for markets, festivals, and community events;
3. Street scaping of William Street to include light art on and above the footpath.

Similarly, there are some major projects building on and rediscovering the area’s past vibrancy. The Northbridge History Project aims to build an archive of its past, through creating community awareness, engagement and ownership of Northbridge through an understanding of its history (northbridgehistory.wa.gov.au).

Attending an Arterial Collective exhibition in Ginger’s Garage, it was pointed out that that same room covered in street art used to be Perth’s gambling hall up until the late 80’s. However, there’s been no real effort to present the history of places like this to anyone who happened to be 2 years old at the time.

This disconnect of our generation with the area’s past is worth addressing – it seems that much of the rich history of Northbridge is swept away with each new development, or is forgotten by a city that is uncertain of how to remember its ‘seedy underbelly’.

Reconnect
For me, Northbridge is captured in the BBQ delights at the Good Fortune Roast Duck House, Joe’s coffee at Il Verro Gusto, nights out at Connies or The Bakery, and the insomnia that only comes from living in an apartment opposite The Deen. It is the place where ‘real’ experiences are constructed in our city, where life happens. But Northbridge today is only a glimpse of what it could be within the next decade.

As Perth’s West End becomes an entertainment district in its own right, the future of Northbridge and greater Perth City will be determined by the construction (or failure to construct) The Link. After being put on hold by the previous government, a 27th October media release from the Premier reignited the project to sink the railway pending assistance from Infrastructure Australia. It is this connection between WA’s business and cultural centres that would expand Perth’s potential to become a truly magical and vibrant world city.

Zac Whitely