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The Palace Theatre (also known as The Palace) was an entertainment venue located in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
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. First built for live theatre in 1912, it was also used as a cinema and for live music. It was demolished except for its facade in 2020 after much community opposition, to be replaced by a
Le Méridien Le Méridien is an American upscale, design-focused international hotel brand with a European perspective. It was originally founded by Air France in 1972 and was later based in the United Kingdom. Marriott International now owns the chain. As of ...
hotel.


History

The Palace site had a rich history of entertainment uses through many many different incarnations over the decades 1912-2010s. Although altered many times, its superabundance of contributions to Melbourne's theatrical heritage made it worthy of preservation, arguments which unfortunately did not prevent its destruction.


Excelsior Hotel

The plot of land on 20-30 Bourke Street was occupied from the late 1850s Excelsior Hotel. The association between hotels and theatres at the time was close, and the hotel incorporated a hall (known as the Queen's Hall) used for vaudeville performances and other entertainment including boxing and wrestling. The hotel later became known as Stutt's Hotel circa 1875, and then the Hotel Douglas in 1900. The last listing for the Hotel Douglas in the
Sands Directory The Sands Directories, also published as the Sands and Kenny Directory and the Sands and McDougall Directory were annual publications in Australia. They listed household, business, society, and Government contacts in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sy ...
was in 1911, after this the hotel burned to the ground. The land was sold for £32,000.


Theatre

In 1911 the
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
based architects Eaton & Bates, in association with the Melbourne architect
Nahum Barnet Nahum Barnet (16 August 1855 – 1 September 1931) was an architect working in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, best known for his extensive legacy of commercial buildings in Melbourne's CBD, as well a ...
, were commissioned to design a new theatre for the site for James Brennan. The design had seating on three levels and a large
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
with curtains of gold. The front section included some rooms on the upper floors known as the Pastoral Hotel.Assessment of Cultural Heritage Significance, Heritage Victoria, November 2013 It opened in April 1912 as Brennans Amphitheater. In 1916 the Sydney architect
Henry Eli White Henry Eli White (21 August 1876 – 3 March 1952), also known as Harry White, was a New Zealand-born architect best known for the many theater (structure), theatres and movie theater, cinemas he designed in New Zealand and Australia in the 1910 ...
designed alterations, which involved a complete refitting of the auditorium and lobby with the addition of ornate plaster decoration in a
Louis Seize Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
style, and it was renamed the Palace Theatre. Between 1919 and c. 1922 a front room on the upper level was let for use as a studio to the prominent artists
Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mount Moriac, Victoria ...
and
Max Meldrum Duncan Max Meldrum (3 December 1875 – 6 June 1955) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, best known as the founder of Australian tonalism, a representational painting style that became popular in Melbourne during the interwa ...
. "Palace Chambers", which was similarly located and perhaps the same space, was used by the Institute of Arts and Literature between 1921 and 1927. In 1923 the auditorium was extensively remodelled, though retaining the Louis Seize style, overlaid with
Adamesque The Adam style (also called Adamesque or the Style of the Brothers Adam) is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and ...
decoration, and it was re-opened as The New Palace.Heritage Appraisal, Palace Theatre, Lovell Chen, June 2013


Cinema

In 1934 further alterations were carried out and from then on it was known as the Apollo Theatre. The life of the Apollo was short lived, as 6 years later in 1940 the building was renamed the St James. In 1951 it was purchased by
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, was renamed the 'St James Theatre & Metro', featuring films exclusively from its owners. The facade was substantially remodelled in an Art Deco style designed by H Vivian Taylor, the only part which still remains today. Internally the proscenium was replaced and the side boxes and the balcony ends were removed to allow installation of a
CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...
screen. The last film to be shown at the MGM cinema was
Kelly's Heroes ''Kelly's Heroes'' is a 1970 war comedy drama film directed by Brian G. Hutton. Set during World War II, the film tells the story of a motley crew of American GIs who go AWOL to rob a French bank, located behind German lines, of its stored Na ...
, starring
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
in October 1970. After this it was sold.


Theatre

The cinema was reopened as a theatre in 1971. It featured a 39-week season of the musical
Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...
from 1971 to 1972. The life of the theatre was short-lived, as in 1974 it was converted back into a cinema and renamed the Palace Theatre for the first time since 1916.


Church

In 1980 the cinema was sold to the Melbourne Revival Centre, a
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
church headquartered in Melbourne. It became a major venue for their services, which involved theatre productions.


Night Club

The next sale resulted in a major refurbishment by the Melbourne architectural firm Biltmoderne. In 1987 the building was transformed into the Metro Nightclub. The Metro was described in 2006 as having a "classy, intimate VIP lounge in Gods Bar along with the funky Fish Bowl on the mezzanine level providing electrifying views of the Main Room below, all available for your partying pleasure."


Music venue

In 2007 the Metro nightclub was sold. The new owners, who operated the former Palace, St Kilda, lost an acrimonious 2-year battle with the
State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
over the lease of the old building and moved their business to the Metro. They undertook works to convert the Metro into a live music venue, and changed its name to The Palace. The old Palace in St Kilda mysteriously burned down only a few months later under suspicious circumstances. Over the next 7 years it became a very well established venue, hosting acts such as George Clinton,
The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...
,
Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
,
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and
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, to name a few. It had a capacity of 1850.


Closure, Controversy and Demolition

In late 2012 The Palace was sold to a China-based developer Jinshan Investment Group for $11.2 million. In mid 2013 the new owners revealed plans for a major 30-storey
W Hotel W, or w, is the twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''double-u'',Pronounced in formal situation ...
development replacing the theatre, worth $180 million. These plans generated considerable opposition, especially from Melbourne's music community. The City of Melbourne also opposed the plans since it was far in excess of the height limit on the site. The plans were then modified into a smaller 7-storey hotel. The theatre was then closed in April 2014. In late 2014, while the City of Melbourne was considering heritage protection of the interior (which would have been the first interior listed by them), a skip in a rear lane was discovered full of broken pieces of the interior decorative plaster and tiles, and jackhammering sounds were coming from inside. Activists claimed that owners Jinshan Investments were deliberately destroying the interior features to prevent any heritage listing. In response, Jinshan representatives stated that "over the past 100 years he Palacehas been dramatically altered, with much of its original features and history stripped by previous owners, including the Metro Nightclub which added steel staircases and galleries that dramatically transformed the interior in the 1980s." The subsequent recommendation to Council was that not enough remained to justify listing the interior. The City of Melbourne nevertheless refused to issue a permit for the hotel, a decision that the owners appealed to the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the tribunal sits 'below' the Magistra ...
(VCAT) in early 2016. However, the decision handed down a few months later was to allow demolition and redevelopment works to go ahead. In late February 2020 internal demolition works began, leaving only the external walls.


In popular culture

In 1956, the Palace Theatre helped to inspire an enduring
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
tradition, when a teenager named John Ian Wing wrote a letter to the organisers of the
Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the excepti ...
, suggesting that the Closing Ceremony feature the athletes of all nations entering the stadium as an intermingled group. The idea was adopted, and helped to redeem the Melbourne Games' reputation as the 'Friendly Games'. Wing has since written that his idea was inspired by his observation of the jumbled and spirited crowds exiting the Palace Theatre, visible from his home above a Bourke Street restaurant. In 1976, cover band The Blue Echoes used a photograph of Bourke Street for the album cover for their album 'Dancing in the Street'. The Palace can clearly been seen on the photograph.


References

{{coord, 37, 48, 41, S, 144, 58, 20, E, region:AU-VIC_type:landmark, display=title Former theatres in Melbourne Music venues in Melbourne 1912 establishments in Australia 2014 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 2020 Demolished buildings and structures in Melbourne Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre