| Athenaeum, Melbourne |
Article Index for Athenaeum |
Website Links For Melbourne |
Information AboutAthenaeum, Melbourne |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ATHENAEUM, MELBOURNE | |
| heritage listed buildings in melbourne | |
| organisations based in melbourne | |
| libraries in australia | |
|
The Melbourne City Council meet 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 major activity was a 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 entrepeneurs 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. 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. REFERENCE The Melbourne Athenaeum, a short history, 2001. |
|
|