Doomed to Failure !

There is not a major city in the world that does not have what some euphemistically call a " Red Light District ".   The characteristics change from city to city, but it is generally conceded that this is the place where sex can be bought and it will contain a concentration of bars and entertainment venues providing activities designed to shock and titillate party goers.   In Sydney that used to aptly describe Kings Cross.

Earlier, it was Sydney's " bohemian " district but during the war in Vietnam it became the R & R venue for both Australian and American troops.  Understandably, the type of entertainment sought by young men released from the battle scene centred around " girly " shows and Kings Cross was  named " the Golden Mile ".  Venues made their proprietors very rich and Kings Cross became the epicentre of crime in Australia.

When the Vietnam war ended the clientele changed.  The young people of Sydney seeking a night out headed to Kings Cross and soon unruly crowds milling in the streets and moving between venues brought trouble.  Fist fights brought death to some and the government introduced lock-out laws to tame the crowds.  Those crowds withered away and forty-two bars, clubs and small businesses have since closed their doors.  " The Cross " is now a desolate scene far removed from the previous glory days.

Inevitably, with land prices rocketing in this city the business community sees opportunity. Kings Cross is located right in the heart of the city and these venues are ripe for redevelopment. Plans are coming forward to turn these old venues into towering office blocks but pressure is being brought to retain some of the iconic neon signs that made the old Cross the roaring vice capital of an earlier age.  It is proposed that the spectacular signage that proclaimed both " Porky's" and " Dream Girls " be retained and simply tacked on to the front of new office blocks to satisfy the whims of the National Trust.

We have not had a lot of success in grafting memories of an older Sydney on newer structures and somehow lurid neon signs advertising venues many would prefer to forget grafted on the front of buildings containing the offices of respectable companies does not appeal.  To some, it may seem " tacky "  and it is being referred to as bringing a " Disneyland " aspect to the city.   Introducing a " make believe " element.

The old Kings Cross is dead and its ghosts need burial.  It is about to renew itself in modern form and it is inevitable that Sydney will soon create what will become its new " Red Light " district somewhere else in the city - and those living there may not find that appealing.

Usually, such a " happenance " comes about by sheer chance.   An existing pub or club draws immense crowds because what it offers becomes popular.  Surrounding businesses change in character to accommodate those crowds and very quickly a myth becomes self generating.   This " hub " becomes the action scene - and it attracts all the other sorts of business that are common in a red light district.

Perhaps what condemned Kings Cross to ultimate failure was its lure as the city's sole concentration of semi illicit entertainment.  It was just too big and the crowds were becoming unmanageable.  What emerges as a replacement may be scattered over several venues or develop across a much wider suburb.

This suggestion of trying to retain the old image by inappropriately pasting those old neon signs onto the front of new buildings is doomed to failure.  It is more likely to be an embarrassment to those tasked with working in those venues.