Cremorne's built environment comprises a chaotic mix of uses, a result of being 'walled in' by main roads and railways on all sides.

Cremorne was established as six allotments of crown land in 1839 only 5 years after the subdivision of Melbourne's CBD by John Batman.

They were established in 1853 by James Ellis (9 January 1874 - d. circa 1876),[9][10][11] who had earlier managed gardens of the same name on the banks of the Thames, at Chelsea, in London.

[12][13] Entrepreneur George Coppin later acquired and expanded the Gardens which became a major Melbourne attraction at the time, with patrons arriving by train or boat to see wild animals, dancers and other entertainment.

Although Cremorne was a largely residential area in its early history, the banks of the Yarra became home to many so-called noxious industries, such as tanneries and soap makers, as well as the Richmond Power Station, which opened in 1891.

Well-known Melbourne criminal Dennis Allen owned about a dozen homes in Cremorne, which were used for a variety of illicit purposes.

The inner city became a desirable residential location again and large industries found it uneconomic to operate in inner urban areas.

Cremorne is now a mixture of period and modern housing, offices, art galleries, bars, and a diminishing light industrial sector.

Currently Cremorne has been coined as 'Australian Silicon Valley' due to a concentration of tech industries such as Seek, Disney and Carsales in the precinct.

Once famous for the Dimmeys department store, full of discounted seconds and distressed stock, which is now being redeveloped as an apartment complex, it also has an eclectic collection of restaurants and clearance shops.

Trains on the Lilydale, Belgrave, Glen Waverley, and Alamein lines pass through East Richmond, heading towards the eastern suburbs, but many of them do not stop there.