- Grafton Street (Dublin)
:"Grafton Street redirects here. For the street in London, England, see
Grafton Street, London , for the one in Milton Keynes, England, seeV6 Grafton Street ."Grafton Street ("Sráid Grafton" in Irish) is one of the two principal shopping streets in
Dublin city centre, the other beingHenry Street . It runs fromSt. Stephen's Green in the south toCollege Green in the north. The street was named after the firstDuke of Grafton , who owned land in the area. The street was developed from a then existing country lane by the Dawson family in 1708, after whom the parallel Dawson Street is named.Since the 1980s, the street has been mostly pedestrianised, with the exception of the short stretch running between Nassau Street and
College Green . This short stretch contains two notable Dublin landmarks, the eighteenth century Trinity College Provost's House, home to the head of the college, and the late twentieth century statue ofMolly Malone , which has become a popular Dublin meeting place. A life-size bronze statue ofPhil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street near the Stephen's Green end, on 19th August 2005.Bewley's Oriental Cafe, a Grafton Street institution since its opening in 1927, announced at the end of October 2004 that it would be closing before Christmas, along with its
Westmoreland Street cafe. Following a campaign by many, including the thenMayor of Dublin ,Catherine Byrne , the cafe on Grafton Street, which had closed, was reopened, including its small performance area.Buskers, including
musician s,poet s andmime artist s commonly perform to the shopping crowds. This scene was portrayed in the 2006 film "Once", starringGlen Hansard ofThe Frames , a former Grafton Street busker.Rents
The opening of the
Luas tram system at the end of June 2004 has led to a 20% increase in pedestrian traffic on the street as of October 2004, although the construction of a large shopping centre in Dundrum toward the other end of the Luas green line could threaten these figures. Grafton Street rents increased by 46% between 2003 and 2004.Grafton Street is the sixth most expensive street in the world, in terms of average rent amounts. [ [http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0527/1211830431743.html Irish Times - "Grafton Street rents make it world's sixth most expensive"] ]
hops
Notable shops
*
Brown Thomas , one of Europe's most elite department stores, host to an aray of major designer boutiques, such asLouis Vuitton ,Dolce & Gabbana ,Vera Wang ,Swarovski ,Chanel ,Valentino ,Hermes , to name a few. It offers services such as, personal shoppers, bridal specialist, on scene make up artists, a health spa and tailoring.
*Weirs jewellers.
*Bewley's Oriental Cafeome notable buskers
*
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Mexican guitar playing duo
*Roadmage - comedy magic show
*Glen Hansard - ex-Grafton Street busker, now inThe Frames
*Damien Rice - ex-Grafton Street busker, now famous musician
*John Nee - imitatedCharlie Chaplin
*Diceman - Deceased game store owner and street performer
*Dave McSavage - Stand up comedy and musicee also
*
List of upscale shopping districts References
External links
* [http://ireland.archiseek.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/southcity/grafton_street/ Buildings of Grafton Street, from Archiseek]
* [http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/2008/04/four-oddest-statues-in-ireland-part-i.html O.T.I.S. (Odd Things I've Seen): Philip Lynott Statue]
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