When was the regent theatre built

The State Theatre was converted into two smaller theatres, while the Capitol was reduced to one smaller theatre and a shopping arcade built in the area once occupied by the stalls. Hoyts briefly examined the possibility of converting the Regent into two smaller theatres, but opted instead to sell the Regent and Plaza and open a smaller multi-cinema complex in Bourke Street.

The Regent closed on 1 July , followed by the Plaza on 4 November. Councillor Bernard Evans first suggested the idea in , but a formal proposal was not accepted until When developers expressed an interest in the Regent Theatre site, MCC decided to purchase it in order to control development around the future City Square.

Before the theatres had even closed, the Council accepted the tender of British development company Star Great Britain Holdings Ltd, who planned to build an international hotel overlooking the Square. The bed hotel would occupy 24 storeys, with the remaining floors to be used as office space. The Decade of Preservation The campaign to save the theatres could not have come at a better time in the history of the preservation movement.

The s were characterised by a renewed interest in historic buildings, not only by members of the wider community but also by some in the State and Federal Governments. Membership of the National Trust had expanded to include younger professionals, and some residents groups had formed in an effort to protect their streets and suburbs from what they perceived to be unnecessary development.

When the Government failed to act on this bill, the Trust put pressure on the State opposition. In an article on the development of heritage legislation, Sheryl Yelland has argued that this Victorian legislation was far from perfect.

Submissions were received from individuals and groups around the country and the subsequent report recommended greater government involvement — to match the interest of the community — in issues of preservation.

In Melbourne, was a tumultuous year in the preservation wars. When the Commercial Bank of Australia CBA announced that it intended to redevelop its building in Collins Street — which included an historic banking chamber dating back to the s — the National Trust mounted a public campaign to prevent its demolition, beginning with the listing of the chamber on its register of historic buildings.

The Trust encouraged supporters to sign petitions objecting to the proposal, and in a three-week period had gathered the support of more than , people. While the National Trust took a proactive approach to the preservation of the CBA banking chamber, it was less vigorous in its response to the fate of the Regent and Plaza theatres.

The Save the Regent Theatre Committee was the key group within this coalition, having formed in the early years after the closure of the Plaza and Regent in Although not part of the initial group, Loris Webster was the only woman on the Committee and soon became its public face. Webster, who together with her husband ran the Wild Cherry restaurant a few doors up from the Regent, was prompted by the public response to the closure of the theatres and offered her assistance to the Committee.

People would often comment to her, she said, that they had never been asked for their views about the Regent. Webster believed the only way the theatres could be saved was as the result of a political decision.

The building unions played a prominent role in the preservation battles of the s. The campaign to save the Sydney Regent was initially successful, but by the s the theatre had fallen victim to development and was demolished.

Press reports regarding the fate of the Melbourne Regent criticised the involvement of the union. The editor of the Melbourne Herald argued that,. Mr Gallagher seems less concerned with the fate of the Regent than with a power play.

There is no room in our society for such strong-arm tactics. The Regent was not the only site affected by a union black ban. Without them, demolition may well have gone ahead and the battle would have been lost before it even began. Green stated that. After receiving reports from architect Sir Roy Grounds and other consultants, the Building Committee recommended in favour of the Snowden Gardens site.

The Council finally gave its approval for the use of Snowden Gardens and the Premier formally announced the location of the new concert hall. With the concert hall proposal no longer an option, debate surrounding the future of the Regent Theatre waged on. Throughout the Save the Regent Theatre Committee continued its campaign, gathering letters of support from performers such as Sir Robert Helpmann and Gladys Moncrieff.

In a letter to the Committee, Helpmann commented on the lack of theatrical venues in Australia, stating that. New Lord Mayor, Councillor Ron Walker, had made it his mission to resolve the issue and shared the desire of his predecessors to demolish the theatres.

Architectural firm Clarke Gazzard Pty Ltd had undertaken a feasibility study into the City Square development, which it presented to the Council in August The report suggested three alternative developments for the City Square, one of which included the retention of the Regent Theatre. The report stated that the theatre was,. In late Lord Mayor Walker wrote to the Premier requesting that he appoint a Committee of Inquiry to resolve the Regent Theatre issue, as the Premier had done the previous year with the CBA banking chamber inquiry.

The union had lifted its black ban on the demolition of Regency House and Wentworth House, but its ban remained on the Regent Theatre. The National Trust meanwhile had reinstated the Regent Theatre on its register of twentieth-century buildings in August In its October newsletter, the Trust argued that the Regent Theatre had been removed from, and then restored to the register because of concerns regarding its condition, not because of its importance, or lack thereof.

The newsletter article defended criticism of the Trust,. Records in the inquiry files reveal that discussions had taken place between Louis Pyke and Norm Gallagher about the possibility of Gallagher appearing on the Committee. Many of the organisations that made submissions to the Committee of Inquiry also provided information to this Council.

The terms of reference for the Committee of Inquiry firmly linked the future of the Regent Theatre to the City Square project. The Committee was directed to investigate,. Its exterior was jail-like, the openings in the walls being grated with heavy iron bars. The interior was open to the sky and merchants and others were sheltered from the rain merely round the sides of the buildings. In July a number of merchants asked the Council to heighten its walls, roof it with glass, convert the iron gratins to windows and clear away the corner shops.

Building started in the autumn of The foundation stone was laid on 22nd October by Mayor D. In July the hoardings round the new Corn Exchange were cleared away and although the roadway at King Street had not been surfaced the public footpath was open.

It was opened on 26th July by Mayor Frederick Fish. In August the fruit and vegetable market was transferred from Falcon Street to the Corn Exchange where it remained until November During it was decided to remodel the Corn Exchange. The main requirements were for meeting, exhibitions, shows and other spectator events. The Grand Hall is used for live shows by touring companies and local groups, keep fit, discos, weddings, dances and dinners.

X close. In this time of uncertainty, we know that booking for a future show may not be something you are considering. Skip to main content. From an architectural point of view the Regent Theatre is an opulent neo-classical picture palace — a renaissance style that is pure escapism.

You will be wowed as you walk through the 17th Century Baroque-style lobby with its elaborate friezes and barrel vaulted ceiling. With the re-opening as the Regent on Broadway in 1 May that description could still stand.