Many mechanics' institutes, athenaeums, schools of arts and related institutions are well documented by the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria, Inc., whose members range from the well-resourced Melbourne Athenaeum to the tiny Moonambel Mechanics' Institute in Moonambel.
The Theatre Royal on Hindley Street, Adelaide was a significant venue in the history of the stage and cinema in South Australia. After a small predecessor of the same name on Franklin Street (built 1838), the Theatre Royal on Hindley Street was built in 1868. It hosted both stage performances and movies, passing through several changes of ownership before it was eventually demolished to make way for a multi-storey car park in 1962.
The Bijou Theatre was destroyed by fire on Easter Monday, 1889, which spared the hotel and the front part of the arcade. A new, larger Bijou Theatre seating up to 2000 with two balconies and six boxes was built on the site, designed by George Johnson, opening in early 1890. At the same time, the dining room of the Palace Hotel was refitted as a smaller theatre, the Gaiety, also accessed via the arcade.
Hall built in Sydney by protestant orders to match the recently built Catholic Guild Hall around the corner. Built in 1878 for the NSW Protestant Hall Company Ltd. Converted to garage 1924. In 1938 it became home to the Australian Workers Union, whose name still appears on the front of the building.
The Twainian Vol 37 No 5 (1978)
Confusingly there was another Opera House built at the same time, the Imperial Opera House on Pender Street – and there was also Hart’s Opera House on Carrall Street, the oldest of the three, but that was described as a ‘glorified shed’ with burlap walls and doubled as a roller rink – the CPR’s was easily the classiest.
The Hotel Vancouver was a hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia that operated between 1888 and 1913. The hotel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway and was designed by Thomas Charles Sorby. Originally the railway had planned a much larger hotel, but would up scaling back its plans and built a reduced design. An addition was built in 1893, however, by the turn of the century, the hotel was deemed inadequate.
A 600-seat theatre on the third floor of the 1890-constructed Lighthouse Building, the Lighthouse Theatre held plays, concerts, and various public events. Most famously, it hosted Mark Twain during his 1895 visit to Bellingham.
Despite having a great stage and acoustics, the Lighthouse also had poor dressing room accommodations and was labeled by the Daily Reveille as a “death trap” in the event of a fire. Despite concerns, no fire ever endangered a Lighthouse audience.
The Tacoma Opera House Company commissioned a group of architects to design an office and theatre block in downtown Tacoma. At this time, Tacoma was experiencing a building boom. It began shortly after the Northern Pacific Railroad first reached Tacoma in 1883. Chicago theatre architect James M. Wood (see my previous installment #214 ) designed the Tacoma Theatre. Wood was a native of New York City, born in 1841. Early in his career, he moved to Chicago and eventually opened an architectural firm for himself.
The Olympia Opera House (or Olympia Theater) was built in 1890 by Washington Standard publisher John Miller Murphy and featured the latest developments in theater construction. The theater had electric lighting, a seating capacity of 1,000, and several lounges and refreshment opportunities. At the time it was built, it was adjacent to the Swantown Slough and the foot of Budd Bay .... , the trolley went by the opera house, providing easy access for local citizens as well as visiting legislators and lobbyists.