Acland St is named for Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, owner of the schooner Lady of St Kilda, after which the suburb of St Kilda is named. It runs on a north-west to south-east axis from Fitzroy St to Barkly St. It was one of the first streets laid out when St Kilda was surveyed in 1842. A plaque on the corner of Acland and Fitzroy Sts commemorates the first land sales at St Kilda, which took place near the intersection.

The north-western end of the street is largely residential, and features many fine houses from the late 19th century, some of them converted to flats or other uses, such as the Linden Gallery. Only from the intersection of Carlisle St to its termination in the south-east is it a commercial street. The section of Acland Street between Barkly Street and Carlisle Street is a tram zone where route 96 terminates.

In the 1930s and 1940s this part of St Kilda was the centre of Melbourne’s Jewish community, and Acland St featured a number of shops and restaurants catering to the Jewish community and offering eastern European cuisine. Acland St’s well-known cake shops also date from this period. Since the 1950s, however, the centre of the Jewish community has moved eastwards to Caulfield, and Acland St has lost its distinctive Jewish ambience. The 1950’s Scheherezade cafe lingered until 2008 but a few great cake shops still remain from that era. Today Acland St has many restaurants offering a variety of cuisines, including Vietnamese, Indian, Italian and Malaysian. A large McDonalds now stands on the corner of Acland and Carlisle Sts.

The junction of Acland St and Barkly St is known as the Village Belle, after the Village Belle Hotel, one of the oldest in Melbourne, which stands on Barkly St at the end of Acland St. Near the junction of Carlisle St and Acland St is Luna Park, one of Australia’s best-known amusement parks, which attracts large crowds during the summer. Almost next door is one of Melbourne’s oldest theatres, The Palais. Also on Acland St is the St Kilda Army and Navy Club, which has recently been renovated and become a popular gambling venue.