The splendidly named Boggo Road Gaol first opened in 1883 and closed in the early 1990s. It was known for its overcrowding and poor conditions which lead inmates, during the 1980s, to riot and go on hunger strike.
Since then, the site has been redeveloped into the Boggo Road Urban Village which includes housing as well as a huge Ecosciences Precinct. They recently started up a market on the site every week which I went along to for the first time on Sunday. There was plenty of live music, kids running around, people lounging about on the grass stuffing their faces with all sorts of interesting food and drinking coffee and juices. Without those huge red brick walls, it would be easy to overlook the site's dark past.
If you haven't been and are thinking of going, I went on an overcast day and it was fine but if you plan to go when it's sunny, get there early as there's not much in the way of shade.
I just love the name Boggo Road.
