Prahran, Victoria

Prahran Melbourne, Victoria
Former Read's Emporium now "Pran Central" on the corner of Chapel Street and Commercial Road
Prahran
Coordinates	37°51′07″S 144°59′53″E / 37.852°S 144.998°E / -37.852; 144.998Coordinates: 37°51′07″S 144°59′53″E / 37.852°S 144.998°E / -37.852; 144.998
Population	11,191 (2011 census)
• Density	5,330/km2 (13,800/sq mi)
Established	1837
Postcode(s)	3181
Area	2.1 km2 (0.8 sq mi)
Location	5 km (3 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)	City of Stonnington
State electorate(s)	Prahran
Federal Division(s)	Higgins
Suburbs around Prahran: Melbourne South Yarra Toorak Melbourne Prahran Armadale St Kilda Windsor St Kilda East

Prahran (/pɛ'ræn/, also known colloquially as "Pran") is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2011 Census, Prahran had a population of 11,191.

Prahran is a part of Greater Melbourne, with many shops, restaurants and cafes. The area of Prahran, centred along Commercial Road was one of Melbourne's gay villages, but no longer is.

The shopping street Chapel Street is a mix of upscale fashion boutiques and cafes. Greville Street, once the centre of the Melbourne's hippie community, has many cafés, bars, restaurants, bookstores, clothing shops and music shops.

Prahran takes its name from Pur-ra-ran, a compound of two Aboriginal words, meaning "land partially surrounded by water", in 1837 by George Langhorne. The proximity of the Yarra River and a swamp to the southwest (Albert Park Lake is the remnant) explains that description.

In 1837 George Langhorne named the area Pur-ra-ran, a compound of two Aboriginal words, meaning "land partially surrounded by water". When he informed the Surveyor-General Robert Hoddle of the name, it was written as "Prahran".

Prahran Post Office opened on 1 April 1853.

Describing Prahran, as it was in the mid 1850s, F.R. Chapman remembered:

Between the 1890s and 1930s Prahran built up a huge shopping centre, which by the 1920s had rivalled the Melbourne Central Business District. Large emporiums (department stores) sprang up along Chapel Street. Prahran also became a major entertainment area. The Lyric theatre (also known as the fleahouse), built on the corner of Victoria Street in 1911, burnt down in the 1940s. The Royal was the second old theatre built. The Empress (also known as the flea palace), another popular theatre on Chapel Street, was destroyed by fire in 1971. The site was operated by the cut-price clothes and homewares chain Waltons for the next decade and was later developed into the Chapel Street Bazaar.