Today we went on a photo shoot with the U3A Camera Club. We went into the city and did part of The City Centre Heritage Trail. The first building we visited was the old Regent Theatre, which is in the Queen St Mall tucked in between two new buildings. It is no longer a theatre but the facade, foyer and grand staircase have been preserved. The foyer now houses an information centre.
It was built in 1929 to capitalise on the popularity of talkie movies. It was built in a lavish style like the American ones to entice more custom. It had 2,500 seats, ornate chandeliers and Belgian carpets. It featured a Wurlitzer organ that could be raised and lowered on a hydraulic platform.
In the 70's it was remodelled to hold 4 theatres but now they have been demolished.
My daughter told me this is where her and her husband, David, went on their first date.
The ceiling is covered in paintings and patterns.
My European readers will probably wonder why our old buildings are not really old when compared with their old buildings which date back hundreds of years. It must be remembered white people only started living in Australia from 1788. Brisbane wasn't settled until 1823 by convicts. Free settlers came in 1838. Brisbane was a municipality in1859 and a metropolitan area in 1924. So you can understand why this building built in 1929 is declared a heritage building.
It looks still beautiful in the inside, sad it is not used as a theatre anymore. All those old ones were so nice decorated.
ReplyDeletea beautiful building. i went to one that's quite similar in sydney many years ago. we have the capri cinema in adelaide that has the Wurlitzer organ in residence. it's quite famous and comes up from the floor. a friend volunteers there and is a member of the organ society.
ReplyDeleteMany a film I saw in the Regent before I went to New Guinea. M
ReplyDeleteHello, it is a beautiful building. The inside is gorgeous. It would be nice to see it used as a theatre again. Lovely series of photos. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful building and strangely narrow. How did Joh miss demolitioning this one?
ReplyDeleteMaybe because it was still being used as a theatre in his time as Premier.
Deletemy dad loved the talkie movies, he would have been 16 when they built this, but the ones he watched were not in stunning buildings like this one.
ReplyDeletegreat building with fantastic ceiling
ReplyDeleteWow that is a beautiful place, I hope they look after it. Have a good week t'other Diane
ReplyDeleteIt really was magnificent........it was so saddening to see it close.
ReplyDeleteColin
Fantastic photos what a gorgeous building and a cool place to go to on a first date :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad at least part of this gorgeous theater has been preserved. They certainly don't build them like this anymore!
ReplyDeleteWe're "New World" too! Where we live on the West Coast of the US that would be a heritage building too. Maybe not 'back East' in the original 13 colonies. This is a gorgeous building though ... I can't think of anything like it around us here in Oregon.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful building Diane.. the 1920's were the best for fabulous architecture! Pretty romantic spot for a first date ☺
ReplyDeleteIt is a magnificent old building Diane, so much character and a lovely connection your daughter and son-in-law. Impressive photos! A super place for your camera club.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous theater. And 2500 seats for a movie theater seems really, really big. You can't watch a movie in a work of art like that anymore!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a gorgeous theatre....ceilings etc so ornate Beautiful place to have a first date
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful place for a photo expedition, Diane. Sadly it is hard to find such beauty in many of today's structures. Thanks for sharing and hope thi one is around for many more years to come!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a lavishly elegant place!
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in New Zealand I managed to understand the entirely different concept different countries have of what is old. After all, in parts of the Middle East, a 1000 year old building (and many British buildings are that old) might be considered almost modern.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful building Diane.. the 1920's were the best for fabulous architecture! Pretty romantic spot for a first date
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gclub
To me it looks old, they copied very well their home style ! It looks very romantic ! I wonder what Belgian carpets are, never heard that we make carpets. The only thing we are famous for are the Gobelin wall carpets which hang on the wall and cost a fortune and come from Gent.
ReplyDeletegreat building with fantastic ceiling
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might be considered almost modern.
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มาเด้ เป็นอย่างไร? เป็นส่วนประกอบของสารสกัดที่มาจากธรรมชาติมีทั้งยังวิตามินรวม แร่ เอนเหล้าองุ่นและก็เชลล์บรรเทา
ReplyDeleteมีทั้งยังพลาสเซนต้ารวมทั้งคอลลาเจนโดนสารทั้งหมดควรต้องผ่านขั้นตอนจัดเตรียมสูตรยาแบบ(Homeopathy)
เป็นศาสตร์การบำบัดที่มีต้นกำเนิดมาจาก สหพันธ์สาธารณรัฐเยอรมนี โดยกานศึกษาค้นพบของหมอ ซามุเอลฮาเนมัน แก่มากยิ่งกว่า 200
ปีโดยมีวิธีการบรรเทาว่า (ใช้สิ่งที่คล้ายคลึงกันมารักษาสิ่งที่คล้ายคลึงกัน) หรือการนำเอาสารที่เป็นต้นเหตุของอาการนั้นๆ
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