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The Prince Public Bar

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It's a St Kilda institution, and with old rock postered walls, pool tables, juke boxes and plenty of beer on tap, that's not about to change any time soon.

Editorial


The Prince is a St Kilda institution; having once been the haunt of sailors in the '40s and '50s, the whole venue became famous in the '70s and '80s as a rock/punk/drag/mixed bag of everything cool and alternative. St Kilda has long since changed of course, and after the Van Handel brothers (of Stokehouse fame) purchased the whole place, they began a dramatic makeover on the upstairs hotel, bottleshop, club, back bar (now Mink) and everyone expected the good old Public Bar to close up or become another jooshy wine bar. Instead, the crappy ceiling and sticky carpets were stripped away to reveal the original deco architecture that now features throughout, and the old crowd was told to stay.

The Public Bar has a smaller bar to one side, known as the Saloon or 'ladies lounge' as it has long been considered one of Melbourne first gay bars, but has since mellowed with age. The top night is Mondays, where both bars become swamped in punters coming for $2 Pots night. The rest of the week, the outdoor seating area facing Fitzroy Street is a popular spot to watch the sunset over St Kilda beach and is undoubtedly the best spot to people-watch well into the night.

The crowd at the Prince is as mixed as you will find anywhere in St Kilda: all ages, all types, gay, straight, rock, disco, you name it. The club upstairs, which used to be the piano bar, still maintains a great line-up of national and international acts, and often hosts club nights like Girl Bar and One Love. There are often huge queues for the gigs, so many people choose to grab a cheap drink in the Public Bar first and wait for things to quiet down before heading upstairs.

So, after you've popped your $2 into the jukebox and selected your favourite classic Bowie or Nirvana tracks, check out the paintings on the walls outside the ladies - this collection of portraits by local painter Gavin Brown feature the faces of St Kilda Royalty, and is the best, and most surreptitious, way to get up to speed on who's who in St Kilda.

Din Heagney, March 2010

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Cameron Robinson
October 10, 2010


Great sound and atmosphere in a great location. One of my favorite venues to see a band.

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