Taking its name from the three-way intersection where William Street meets DarlinghurstRoad and Victoria Street, the Cross occupies a few blocks clustered around a sleazy 600m-long spine of DarlinghurstRoad that is full of strip clubs, peep shows and sex shops.
Piccolo Bar Cafe, which opened in the 1940s and swiftly developed a reputation as a hangout for local jazz musicians, still attracts a loyal crowd and has provided a blueprint for the growing number of new cafes, bars and restaurants opening in the streets and laneways off DarlinghurstRoad.