"I always said that the Cross could be the next Paris," says Kings Cross resident Mary White Davidge, "and now it's starting to happen."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
She shares an apartment off Darlinghurst Road with her friend Cheryl Arthur and dog, Cha Cha.
Together they have witnessed the transition of the iconic road since the Baird government introduced the lockout laws in 2014. "Slowly we are seeing more sophisticated businesses moving in," Ms White Davidge says.
"The streets are cleaner in the morning, it's quieter, we can get some sleep," says Cheryl Arthur. "We're actually a bit for it."
The pair refer to the significant increase in property values since 2014. "There are families, couples and young people living here, it's becoming more residential."
Ms Arthur lived in Kings Cross during its '60s heyday. "Yeah," she smiles knowingly, "It's changed big time."
Further down Darlinghurst Road from the Coca-Cola billboard, things aren't looking so peachy. 'For Lease' signs riddle the sidewalk between the deadened neon lights of closed strip joints.
Medo Salem has been working on the corner of Roslyn Street and Darlinghurst Road at The Best Kebab for eight years.
"It's affected us too much. We used to be open on the weekends till 6am. Now we're still open until 3am, but we get 50 customers after 1am when we used to get 500."
An adult store that has been on Darlinghurst Road for 20 years is trying to adapt to the area's gentrifying demographic. Retail assistant, Annalee Gonzales says the store has seen a 30 per cent drop in night-time trade.
"A lot of our clientele used to be strippers and working girls coming in before work saying, 'Oh I need to get heels, I need stockings, wigs', and so on. Now I see maybe three on weekend nights. They say they don't work around here anymore."
Shop assistant Carina Angelo says she enjoys serving the diverse mix of customers visiting Healthy Life, a health food and supplements store that opened a year and a half ago on the site of a fish and chip shop.
"We have started stocking more food items for people living locally and protein mixes for people coming from the gym," she says. "Business is gradually improving."
Josh Zimbicka is a bartender at the Kings Cross Hotel, a multi-storey pub positioned on the William Street, Victoria Street gateway to the Cross.
"I've heard that business is not even close to what it was," he says. "Now it's like you just get what you can get."