150-162 FLINDERS STREET
150-162 FLINDERS STREET MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE CITY
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Statement of Significance
This place is included on the Victorian Heritage Inventory, for its potential to contain historical archaeological remains associated with the settlement and growth of early Melbourne. Under the terms of the Heritage Act 2017 there is protection for all historical archaeology sites and objects in the state.
Please visit the Heritage Victoria website to find out more about the Heritage Inventory.
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150-162 FLINDERS STREET - History
Heritage Inventory History of Site: Date of first documented occupation, 1839Heritage Inventory Description
150-162 FLINDERS STREET - Heritage Inventory Description
3rd land sale 1838, Block 6, Allotment 8, William Rutledge. 1839 - building. 1850, 1866 - building.1877 - 6 buildings; Degraves Bond, 5 houses, yards, sheds.1888 - 3 buildings; W Degraves, Bond; F Johns & Co., Iron Works.1905 - 2 x 3 storey buildings; Herald Newspapers; Beath, Schiess & Co., store & stables.
Heritage Inventory Significance: The former State Theatre was constructed in 1929 to a design by Bohringer, Taylor and Johnson for Union Theatres. Built as an atmospheric theatre its design was extravagant both inside and out. In 1962 the theatre was converted into two cinemas, the Forum and Rapallo, and a number of shops. An entrance to the Rapallo was constructed to Russell Street at this time.The former State Theatre is significant for architectural and social reasons.* The former State Theatre is important for reasons of cultural and social associations as it is symbolic of the extravagance and confidence of the 1920s boom. The entertainment provided at the cinema was a highly popular social and cultural activity in which thousands regularly participated. The opulence of the interior was instrumental in attracting patronage to the cinema and in the encouragement of the participation of people from middle and upper classes. From this point it is also significant in that it signals a shift in the social perception of cinema entertainment to be broadly acceptable across class groupings. * The former State Theatre is representative of an activity carried out during an era when cinema-going was an extremely popular past-time, enjoyed en mass, and when the cinema itself was a contributory and important element of that experience.* The architecture of the former State Theatre was influential in the development of the atmospheric style and design philosophy. The essence of this design philosophy is still clearly visible in the fabric of the modified interior. The interior of the former State Theatre is an extrordinary example of a cinema and a representative example of an atmospheric cinema. It is the only remaining atmospheric cinema surviving in Victoria. Though the interior is modified, the visual an atmospheric impact of the design are still clearly discernible. * The dividing of the cinema interior in two, the subsequent alterations to the cinemas and their entrances and the decrease in overall seating capacity of the whole complex demonstrates both the decline of cinema attendances due mainly to the development of new entertainents technologies, and a changing pattern of use over time. The conversion of a number of dressing rooms and the enclosing of the orchestra pit also demonstrates the demise of combined live and film presentations.* Despite the loss of the orginal furnishings and the alterations to the interior during the 1960s, the theatre deomonstrates and exuberant, eclectic, extraordinary and outstanding use of decoration. The miniature plaster versions of well known Greco-Roman sculptures and bas relief wall panels combined with mock palace facades, villa facades and the liberal use of architectural structual elements set out under a blue sky as if in a fantasy garden, mark out the interior as one of the most unsual in in the State.
Archeological Potential: Site,Potential (area)
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FORMER BAPTIST CHURCH HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H0003
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EAST MELBOURNE SYNAGOGUEVictorian Heritage Register H0495
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ST PATRICKS CATHEDRAL PRECINCTVictorian Heritage Register H0008
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