Melbourne Athenaeum

Melbourne Athenaeum
Athenaeum

The Melbourne Athenaeum
Address 188 Collins Street
City Melbourne
Country Australia
Designation Victorian Heritage Register, Register of Historic Buildings
Architect Smith & Johnson
Capacity 1000 (theatre one)
Years active Since 1839
Rebuilt 1885-1886
Current use live theatre, comedy, library, readings
www.melbourneathenaeum.org.au

The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum is one of the oldest public institutions in Victoria, Australia, founded in 1839. The first President was Captain William Lonsdale, the first Patron was the Superintendent of Port Philip, Charles La Trobe and the first books were donated by Vice-President Henry Fyshe Gisborne. Originally it was called the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute. This was expanded in 1846 to the Melbourne Mechanics' Institution and School of Arts. The building on Collins Street was completed in 1842. The Athenaeum played a role in the establishment of Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria.

The Melbourne City Council met in the building until 1852 when the Melbourne Town Hall was built.

The Institution changed its name to the Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873. At that time, as now, a focal point was the library. In 1877, membership was 1681 and in 1879 there were 30,000 visits to the library. In 1880 it was reported 'that the floor of the large hall was the only one in Melbourne expressly constructed for dancing'. The front of the building was rebuilt in 1885 and 1886.

In October, 1896, the first movie was shown in Australia in the Athanaeum Hall. The Hall became a regular venue for screening films and the premier of The Story of the Kelly Gang by the Tait brothers was at the Athenaeum in 1906. The theatre in its present form was created in 1921. The theatre was the first venue in Australia to screen talking pictures. The Melbourne Theatre Company leased the theatre from 1976 to 1985 when the lease was taken over by various entrepreneurs who formed AT Management in 1997.

The Athenaeum housed a small museum in its early days and then an Art Gallery, which closed in 1971, after which it was converted into a smaller theatre space by the MTC. This space, as of 1997 is now home to the The Last Laugh Comedy Club and, in the last few years, Melbourne Opera.

The library continues to exist as a large subscription library with members throughout Victoria, although its membership has declined from a peak of 7,579 in 1950.

The building was added to the Register of Historic Buildings in 1981 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[1]

It has been used as a venue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and since 2006 has been the venue for the Last Laugh Comedy Club since it moved from North Melbourne.

References

External links

Coordinates: 37°48′54″S 144°58′02″E / 37.81504°S 144.96736°E / -37.81504; 144.96736


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Melbourne Recital Centre — The Melbourne Recital Centre, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Address Corner of Southbank Boulevard an Sturt Street City …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne Workers Theatre — is an Australian theatre company from Melbourne, Australia. The company was founded in 1987 by Patricia Cornelius, Steve Payne and Michael White[1]. The company specialises in producing work from a left wing stance, seeking to create work that… …   Wikipedia

  • Athenaeum, Melbourne — Infobox Theatre name = Athenaeum caption = The Athenaeum Theatre address = 188 Collins Street city = Melbourne country = Australia designation = Victorian Heritage Register, Register of Historic Buildings latitude = longitude = architect = Smith… …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne — This article is about the Australian metropolis. The name may also refer to the Melbourne City Centre (also known as the Central Business District or CBD ) or the City of Melbourne (the Local Government Area within which the Melbourne City Centre …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne Theatre Company — The Melbourne Theatre Company (popularly known as MTC) is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500 seat… …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne City Centre — This article is about the locality within the postcodes 3000, 3004 and 3006 of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, officially known as Melbourne . For the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area, see Melbourne. For the local government area that… …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne Arts Precinct — The Melbourne Arts Precinct (also referred to as Ngargee, which is a Bunurong word for describing gathering for celebration ) is a series of galleries, performing arts venues and spaces in Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. The precinct is… …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne City Opera — A performance of Lucia di Lammermoor Melbourne City Opera at BMW Edge Melbourne City Opera, based in Melbourne, Australia, was formed in 1997. It was the successor of Globe Opera, and the intention is to carry on with those traditions, objectives …   Wikipedia

  • Athenaeum — Athenaeum, also Athenæum or Atheneum, is used in the names of institutions or periodicals for literary, scientific, or artistic study. It may also be used in the names of educational institutions. The name is formed from the name of the classical …   Wikipedia

  • Melbourne performing art venues — Melbourne has more performing art venues than any other city in Australia. The following is a list of venues and maximum capacities. The Butterfly Club (50 people) Festival Hall (5445 people) Marriner Group Theatres Princess Theatre (1488 people) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”