[2] Later in the Victorian era, St Kilda became a favoured suburb of Melbourne's elite, and many palatial mansions and grand terraces were constructed along its hills and waterfront.

Many of the mansions and grand terraces became guest houses, and gardens were filled in with apartment buildings, making St Kilda the most densely populated suburb in Melbourne.

The flatter inland areas of St Kilda East was also dominated by mansions and large villas in extensive grounds, but also smaller more typical Victorian houses.

[24] Other amusements developed in the area, such as the Wattle Path Palais dance hall (later the St Moritz Ice Rink) on the Upper Esplanade, and the Venue next door, and the Victory Cinema in 1928 on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle (later the National Theatre).

This reputation was exacerbated by the Great Depression, and it became the growing focus of many of Melbourne's social issues including crime, prostitution and drug abuse.

[27] World War II saw servicemen flock to the beach amusements, where they also met members of the opposite sex, increasing St Kilda's reputation for loose morals.

With numerous small apartments, and plenty of meeting places, St Kilda became one of the city's main areas of bohemianism, as well as attracting a gay and lesbian population.

However, the sculpture was subject to vandals disassembling parts of it as well as concern for children's safety on the high unprotected bow of the "ship" so the local council removed it in November 2006.

[34] In 2006, plans went out for a foreshore re-development, which included promenade widening and saw the demolition of the bicentennial pavilion which marked the land end of the St Kilda pier.

[40] Today, St Kilda is an area of sharp social contrast, with many homeless and other disadvantaged people living among the wealthy and fashionable who crowd its shops and cafes.

[41] This density is reflected in the built form, which consists primarily of strata titled units, apartments and flats, including a single Housing Commission of Victoria tower.

[43] St Kilda is home to a large number of places of worship built over the years to serve primarily the Christian and Jewish faiths, although many of the churches have since been converted for other uses.

Temple Beth Israel, the country's largest Progressive Jewish congregation, on Alma Road in East St Kilda, was consecrated in 1938.

[45] The small bluestone Gothic Wesleyan Methodist (later Uniting) Church on the corner Fitzroy and Princes Streets was built in 1858,[46] designed by Crouch & Wilson, and became part of an apartment complex in the late 1990s.

The St Kilda Parish Mission Uniting Church, built in 1877 on the corner Chapel and Carlisle Streets, has a polychromatic brick and slate roof design.

St Kilda Presbyterian Church, built in 1878 on the corner of Alma Road and Barkly Street was designed by Wilson & Beswicke architects, in a notably bold Italian medieval style.

St Kilda also hosts the annual gay Pride March, which starts at Lakeside Drive and heads down Fitzroy Street to the Catani Gardens.

Until 2009, St Kilda was home to the Community Cup festival which celebrates grassroots Australian rules football having attracted record attendances of up to 23,000 and raising money for local charity the Sacred Heart Mission.

A similar annual celebrity cricket match known as Batting for the Battlers is played at the Peanut Farm opposite Luna Park and attracts a crowd of up to 2,000.

During the late 1970s, it became a hotbed of dark, noisy post-punk, pioneered by locals bands The Birthday Party (featuring Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard), The Moodists and Crime & the City Solution.

Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins, Fred Negro, and dozens of other independent musicians have also called St Kilda home at some point.

The St Kilda Lawn Bowls Club on Fitzroy Street has a long history and retains its heritage clubhouse building as well as hosts many community events.

A significant block of Spanish Mission flats, the Baymor Court, built in 1929 was demolished in November 2004 to make way for the Esplanade high-rise apartment development.

St Kilda features many grand old hotels, some which still operate as licensed premises and others that function as accommodation, most of which are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

From 1979 to the mid 1980s the "Crystal Ballroom" at the George (briefly the Seaview Hotel) became a punk music venue, launching artists such as Nick Cave, Hunters & Collectors, Models and many more.

The Catani Gardens which sit between the foreshore, Beaconsfield Parade and the Esplanade includes a War Memorial, Captain Cook statue and Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron Buildings.

The St Kilda Town Hall features a small public Victorian garden facing the corner of Brighton Road and Carlisle Street.

These ceremonies celebrated important events, told traditional stories and promoted unity between communities, and are commonly known by the generic term corroboree, or ngargee in the local language.

The site continued to be used, both for ceremonial purposes and as a fringe camp, for some years after British settlement in 1835, as is evidenced by Jacob Miller who told his son how he had witnessed the remnant Kulin population "perform their dancing about the old tree" after moving into the area during the 1850s.

[69] St Kilda is the setting for the Sam Feldt & Bloombox remix videoclip of "On Trees and Birds and Fire" by the Dutch folk band I Am Oak.