South Lawn Car Park

Car park with bike racks. grahamstewartwalker (Atlas Obscura User)

This car park is situated under the main campus of the University of Melbourne. Proposed in 1970 and constructed in 1971, the car park was created to cope with an increasing demand for parking by students and teachers.

The design of the car park is vastly different from the university buildings and the ambiance inside really has to be felt to be understood. The immediate transition from the leafy, bright lawns above to this dark underbelly is a stark contrast, to say the least.

The car park is cleverly designed with reinforced concrete shells and mushroom-shaped columns with encased pipes to drain the soil of the plants above. The west entrance to the car park is similar to a grotto. It was actually moved to this site from the original Colonial Bank on Elizabeth Street.

This unique design has made the location a favorite for television sets and other media projects. The car park was famously featured in the first Mad Max film.

Know Before You Go

The car park is situated below the main university campus, under the main lawn. It's well hidden, but there are multiple entrances and it's free to walk through. You can even cycle through and there are plenty of bike racks. The university campus above makes for a nice walk or place to relax.