Kings Cross, at the top of William St (foreground) has historically been both close and far away enough from the CBD to accommodate Sydney’s less salubrious appetites. Picture: National Library of Australia. Read the history of the Cross, and the forces behind its dramatic gentrification, in The Weekend Australian tomorrow.

The Cross was already a nocturnal playground before World War II, when US servicemen came looking for R & R.

A US serviceman doing the jitterbug at Roosevelt's nightclub in Kings Cross, Sydney, in 1943 during World War II.

When the war ended, the partying began. Victory celebrations, Kings Cross, August 15 1945. Read the history of the Cross, and the forces behind its dramatic gentrification, in The Weekend Australian tomorrow.

And soon the crooks moved in. Notorious ‘colourful Sydney identity’ Abe Saffron, who was alleged to have been involved in organised crime and prostitution, at the Roosevelt Club, Kings Cross, in the 1950s.

Saffron with two dancers at a nightclub in Sydney in the 1950s. Read the history of the Cross, and the forces behind its dramatic gentrification, in The Weekend Australian tomorrow.

The Cross began acquiring a more bohemian style in the 1970s.

Abe Saffron also opened Les Girls, a famous club featuring all-transvestite stage show.

The star of Les Girls was Carlotta, who was born Richard Lawrence Byron, and became one of the first people in Australia to undergo a sex-change operation.

The prominent Kings Cross corner once occupied by Les Girls. Read the history of the Cross, and the forces behind its dramatic gentrification, in The Weekend Australian tomorrow.

In the 1970s, department store heiress Juanita Nielsen started campaigning against property developers in Kings Cross, where she lived. She disappeared in 1975, presumed murdered. Picture: Mark Williams

Meanwhile, the Sebel Townhouse, the distinctive hotel at the top of the Cross, became a centre of celebrity activity. Snooker legends Alex Higgins (left) and Eddie Charlton during the Pot Black series in 1973.

Australian Test cricketer David Hookes relaxes with a beer at the Sebel Townhouse in Sydney in 1978.

The Cross’s reputation as a magnet for artists and bohemians was confirmed when author Patrick White and a young Mel Gibson were part of a consortium that tried to buy the Nimrod Theatre, Kings Cross, in 1984.

Michael Jackson stayed at the Sebel Townhouse during his tour in 1985. Read the history of the Cross, and the forces behind its dramatic gentrification, in The Weekend Australian tomorrow.

Abe Saffron spent years deflecting allegations of criminal activity. He was convicted of tax evasion in 1987. He died in 2006.

Saffron (right) with standover man Tim Bristow (left) and extroverted Sydney radio DJ Ward ‘Pally’ Austin in 1988.

The Cross was still party central for musicians in 2000. Killing Heidi lead singer Ella Hooper at the Sebel for post-ARIA awards party.

Even politicians enjoyed The Cross’s raucous reputation. Former NSW Liberal leader Kerry Chikarovski (centre) with bare-chested waiters during Ladies Night at The Bourbon in 2005.

Carlotta made a comeback in 2005, also at The Bourbon.

Police deployed sniffer dogs to prevent drug use in the Cross in 2005.

In 2008, Sapphire Suite owner Charlie Saleh was hit twice in a drive-by shooting, suffering minor injuries. The Cross had by then become a battleground for protection rackets. Saleh had earlier refused entry to his club to bikies.

Swimwear fashion launch at Hugo’s bar, 2012.

Locals began to lament the gentrification of the neighbourhood as early as 2013, making their feeling apparent with engravings on padlocks attached to street fittings. This one reads: “The hipster beards, the hooker’s fear, the shire girls, the westies sneer”.

On new year’s eve 2013, Shaun McNeil (pictured) coward punched Daniel Christie in an unprovoked attack. Christie later died. McNeil was sentenced to 10 years. It was the second fatal coward punch in the Cross in a year, and sparked the lockout laws that have since all but destroyed the Cross as a night spot.

The new lockout laws were enacted at midnight on Sunday 23 February 2014, preventing patrons from re-entering a bar in certain zones after 1.30am. Two American tourists look confused after being denied re-entry to Hugo’s.

As the lockout laws took hold, a lot of Cross institutions shut. Hugo's, an award winning bar and restaurant, closed for good in August. But Richard Guilliatt says the demise of the Cross began before the lockout laws. Read his feature in The Weekend Australian Magazine tomorrow. Picture: Craig Greenhill

Bada Bing, one of the Cross’s most infamous strip joints, in a building owned by Saleh, was closed down in January after repeated incidents of fights and drug selling. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

The main strip, once thronging with people, is now deserted in the early hours. Read the history of the Cross, and the forces behind its dramatic gentrification, in The Weekend Australian tomorrow. Photo Jeremy Piper

And in the place of all that decadence? Among the new denizens of the Cross is Daniel Hakim, whose Cub Network is a trendy private club for entrepreneurs. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

But some reminders of the old Cross remain. There is still a bar called The Roosevelt, on Orwell Street. Barman Alex Grossett keeps the cocktails fresh.

Supplied Editorial Kings Cross

Tali Jatali swim wear launch, Hugo's Kings Cross.

Aug 15 1945 : Victory celebrations - with couples, civilians and servicemen, dancing at parties all night long in Kings Cross Sydney at the end of WWII. picNews/Ltd. NSW / Australian Armed Forces / Army / Soldier / Navy / Sailor history VP VJ Day