Capitol Theatre
113 Swanston Street,
Melbourne,
VIC
3000
113 Swanston Street,
Melbourne,
VIC
3000
16 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 28 of 28 comments
Last week I happened to walk by this place and there was a sign advertising free tours. They do them Fridays from 12 – 5 I believe. This theatre is worth a look due to the unique and impressive cieling design thats very hard to describe, the pic above really doesn’t do it justice. The theatre itself is in ok shape, but the volunteers have a long road ahead of them to get the Capitol back in use as a movie theatre. Currently it is used as a lecture hall for RMIT and ocassionally throughout the year for film festivals. The tour was pretty good, so check it out if you’re in Melbourne.
What Neo is moaning about is actually the loss of the stalls….in many Australian designs, the lower level of all our 2 level cinemas was fairly plain. It was the upper level, ceiling and proscenium that had the good bits. It was cut in half horizontally, from balcony to back wall, which if one thinks about it, is the best way to keep the 95% of what is worth keeping. Many other glamorous cinemas are saved and kept virtually intact (and therfore still in use) by this method. The Orpheum cremorne is one example. It is the best and most viable method. otherwise, goodbye whole building, and louder moaning……
“The theater was reconfigured in 1965, reducing seating capacity from 2100 to 700. During this makeover, the theater was cut in half and many of its seats were removed to make way for a shoping arcade."
That really takes out the glamour and importance of a theatre. At least it’s still in use…