Soon you won't be able to tell people to meet you at the City Square Brunetti's café or by the water wall. By early 2018, buildings around City Square including Brunetti's, the Port Phillip Arcade on Flinders Street and a stretch of fast food joints and souvenir shops along Swanston Street will be demolished to make way for the Metro Tunnel and the new CBD South station.
Also going are City Square landmarks you never thought you'd miss: Larry La Trobe, the cast metal statue of a dog by artist Pamela Irving is going to be put in storage, and the Burke and Wills monument will be restored before going into storage until about 2022 for the duration of the Metro Tunnel project. Warin the Wombat, the statue carved out of a River Red Gum log, and the Victorian of the Year plaques will also be relocated. If you like to get a coffee at City Square before you commute to work, Brunetti's is expected to close in April. The water wall often seen with messages written with fallen leaves (officially known as the John Mockridge Fountain) directly opposite the café is sadly going to be demolished.
Better get a new favourite landmark to meet nearby the next time you're in the city when City Square gets cleaned up for the new build. Still, the pay-off of better transport will hopefully be worth it when the Metro Tunnel eases congestion in the city loop.
