Auditorium, Melbourne

The Auditorium was built in 1913 as a concert hall, located on the more exclusive part of Collins Street, Melbourne, but was mostly used as a cinema.

It was unique in Melbourne as a hall designed primarily for concerts as a private venture, developed by theatre impresarios J. and N. Tait. To subsidise this unusual proposition, the hall was located behind an eight-storey office building, with a separate entry from the street, an arrangement similar to its namesake, the Auditorium Building in Chicago. It was designed by Nahum Barnet, with a tall red brick Edwardian facade, and a sparely finished concert hall seating 2000 in the stalls, a 'grand tier', and a balcony.[1][2] It opened on 17 May 1913, with a performance by world renowned Australian soprano Madame Clara Butt.[3]

Operating as a concert hall was not a great success, as soon as 1915 it was showing motion pictures.[3]

It was completely rebuilt in sumptuous style as the Metro Theatre for MGM, opening in 1934.[4] In 1975, its named was changed to the Mayfair Theatre when taken over by Greater Union, and finally closed in 1982.[5]

in 1985, the interior was completely remodelled around a central dome housing numerous high end boutiques and named ‘Figgins Diorama’. The venture was not successful, closing after 19 months.[6] The space then reopened briefly as the ‘Shop of Shops’ before closing again. The corner theatre space remained unused, while the office block remained as low rental spaces.

Finally, in 2010, everything but the facade was demolished, and a 17 level premium-grade office building was built, with BHP as the major tenant, completed in 2013.[7][8] The facade was restored, and remains listed by Heritage Victoria.[9]

References
  1. "THE AUDITORIUM". The Telegraph. No. 12551. Queensland, Australia. 8 February 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 12 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "NEW CONCERT HALL". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 20, 105. Victoria, Australia. 29 December 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 12 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "THE AUDITORIUM". Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930). 17 May 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. Federated Builders' Association of Australia.; Master Builders' Federation of Australia. (1907), "72 v. : ill. ; 25 cm.", Building : the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant., [Sydney: Building Publishing Co.], nla.obj-296786610, retrieved 12 October 2020 – via Trove
  5. "Mayfair Theatre in Melbourne, AU - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  6. "Figgins Diorama, and elite dream fades". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  7. Hopkins, Philip (15 November 2011). "In with the old and in with the new as architect faces Collins Street challenge". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  8. "171 Collins Street". Corporate. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  9. "Former Auditorium Building". vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2021.

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