Description
These trees create a landscape of interlocking canopies with a more or less contiguous, tunnel effect over the roadway.
The same avenue approach, planting palette, and similar age structure has been carried through to neighbouring streets – Manning Street, Tusculum Street and Victoria Street (refer to listings in this Register). Successive phases of infill planting, using the same species each time, has continued to maintain a more or less contiguous canopy and overall integrity. This thematic planting style has created a distinctive urban and cosmopolitan character throughout the Potts Point – Kings Cross area.
Significance
This avenue of London Planes (Platanus x acerifolia) is one of the more outstanding single species road-side planting schemes in the City of Sydney. The Macleay Street group and adjoining street tree planting are considered to have significance at both the local and broader City of Sydney LGA level due to the special combination of visual and social values.
Historical notes
The original planting scheme possibly dates from the early Inter-war period with further replacement tree planting at various times since 1945. Most of the trees in the upper southern portion of Macleay Street tend to be of a younger age structure probably from the 1960’s, whereas the portion immediately north of Greenknowe Avenue contains the older specimens.
Gallery
