Acland Street was named by James Ross Lawrence. Lawrence was the buyer of the first block at the first sale of Crown lands in St Kilda, which took place on 7 December 1842. The block was bounded by three unmade roads, one of which he named Acland Street after Thomas Acland, who had been his employer until 1840. The other two roads became Fitzroy Street and The Esplanade. (A plaque at the junction of Acland and Fitzroy Streets marks the site of the block.)

As St Kilda evolved into a playground for the masses in the early 20th century, with electric tram lines running to the front of Luna Park and down this end of Acland Street, the mansions and gardens were replaced with shops in the 1920s and 30s.

By the 1930s these shops had become of the centres of Melbourne’s Jewish community, which grew greatly in size with European refugees before and after World War II, and Acland Street featured a number of shops and restaurants catering to this community. The remaining cake shops of Acland Street are a reminder of this community, though most are no longer run by Jewish owners.

In 2016 Acland Street was closed between Belford and Barkly Streets to through vehicular traffic with the tram stop rebuilt with two side platforms, which allowed revitalization of the Acland Plaza we know today.