The Auditorium was an eight-storey Edwardian building at 167–173

Collins Street, Melbourne Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district, central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was laid out in the first survey of Melbourne, the original 1837 Hoddle Grid, and soon became the most ...

, between Swanston and Russell streets, named for its great hall, which was intended for concerts, but was mostly used as a cinema.

The building

The Auditorium was a tall building with a red brick facade, designed by

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 ...

and constructed by Clements Langford Pty. Ltd., one of Melbourne's leading builders, in 1912. Their client was the Melbourne Presbyterian Church, owners of the land, on which St Enoch's Church had once stood. The church had their offices at the Assembly Hall on the other side of Collins Street.

The concert hall

The Auditorium was designed primarily for concerts, and was developed by theatre impresarios J. & N. Tait, and was located behind the eight-storey office building, with a separate entry from the street, an arrangement similar to its namesake, the

Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building is a structure at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1889, it is o ...

in Chicago. The sparely finished concert hall seated 2000 in the stalls, a 'grand tier', and a balcony. It opened on 17 May 1913, with a performance by the renowned soprano

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

. The Auditorium was not a great success; and as early as 1915 it was showing motion pictures.

Later history

The concert hall was remodelled as the Metro Theatre for

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 ...

, being fully gutted in February 1934, rebuilt in sumptuous style, and opened on 27 April 1934, having taken ten weeks to complete. The manager for MGM was Bert Cowen, who had been manager at The Auditorium when it screened the MGM film ''The White Sister'' in 1925. It was renamed Mayfair Theatre in 1975 when taken over by

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 Multiplex (movie theater), cinema c ...

, and finally closed in 1982. 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. 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 BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

as the major tenant, completed in 2013. The facade was restored, and remains listed by Heritage Victoria.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auditorium, Melbourne, The 1913 establishments in Australia Former theatres in Melbourne Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre 1982 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 2010 Theatres completed in 1913 Collins Street, Melbourne