Replacing a smaller timber building constructed (In 1876) on a different site, the Maryborough City Hall was built in 1908 as the second Maryborough Town Hall.
The Royal Princess Theatre was opened on 31st August 1874. The cost of the building was £12,000 with a capacity of 2,000 people. The building was designed by William Charles Vahland.
The site was at the corner of View Street and McKenzie Street, with the frontage facing View Street. The auditorium was on three levels and seated 650 in the pit (rear stalls), 200 in the stalls, 250 in the dress circle and 850 in the gallery. A further 50 were seated in the six stage boxes.
Since 1859, the BMI has been used for balls, lectures, markets, cinema, library, concerts and cultural events. Following a magnificent restoration in 2013, the BMI continues its significant role in Ballarat’s rich cultural heritage.
The Stawell Town Hall, 63-65 Main Street, Stawell, makes a significant architectural, visual and cultural contribution to the Stawell township. The main (front section) of the building was designed by the Stawell Shire Engineer, John D'Alton, in 1872, with the hall opening in 1873. The rear hall was opened in 1924, while a balcony was opened in 1927 and the landmark clock tower constructed in 1939.
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.
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.