TMTheArtsCentre

=The Victorian Arts Centre= ====The Victorian Arts Centre, located on St Kilda Road in the suburb of Southbank, is a complex of theatres and concert halls including Hamer Hall, the State Theatre, George Fairfax Studio, the Playhouse, the Alfred Brash Soundhouse, the Performing Arts Collection and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which was handed over in 1980. This modern and magnificent complex is relatively new when compared to the other, typically grander theatres Rachel and I have covered.====

//History//
The site which the Victorian Arts Centre now calls home has long been associated with the arts and entertainment, having seen a past of circuses, theatre, roller and ice skating, cinema and dance. In the 1870s the site was used as a venue for visiting circuses. In fact, Australia's then largest circus, FitzGerald Brothers, built the Olympia, a hardtop, there in 1901. By 1904 Princes Court also occupied the site, offering amongst other things a Japanese teahouse and openair theatre. Wirth's Circus moved onto the site in 1907 and the area was thus renamed Wirth's Park. The Green Mill, a popular dance hall, opened there and later became the Trocadero.

The site was earmarked and set aside for cultural development in 1946. But, as with Her Majesty's Theatre, the grandeur and animation of the site on St Kilda Road was not to last indefinitely. As with Her Majesty's, Wirth's buildings were struck by fire in 1953 and completely destroyed. The site was used as a carpark until plans for its future were determined.

After World War II it was decided that there was a need in Melbourne for a cultural centre. Finally, after years of discussion, a plan was approved on 1960. During the following years changes were made to the original plans and the Arts Centre became two separate buildings: the Theatres Building and Hamer Hall. The Building Committee, the force overseeing construction of the Arts Centre, was for twenty-five years a consistent force in the completion of the complex. George Fairfax, an actor and director, played an influential role in development of the complex as he held the position of General Manager of the Building Committee.

Work eventually began in 1973 with architect Roy Grounds designing the exterior of the Arts Centre and designer John Truscott responsible for interior design. The Performing Arts Collection and Concert Hall (later Hamer Hall) opened in 1982 and the theatres in 1984. This sigified the completion of one of the largest public works projects in Victorian history, having taken almost twenty-five years. The theatres descend to six levels beneath St Kilda Road and the State Theatre seats over 2000.

Hamer Hall is to undergo a $128.5 million redevelopment which will improve the theatre in providing a better experience for audiences.

//Architecture//
When construction of the Arts Centre began, Academy Award-winning designer John Truscott was employed to decorate the interiors. As there was a requirement to leave some elements already constructed, Truscott's work was slightly constrained. Examples of this were when he applied jewelled finishes to Ground's faceted cave Concert Hall interior, and when he added perforated brass balls to the steel mesh draped ceiling in the State Library.

The gold, silver and white spire on top of the Arts Centre remains a landmark image of Central Melbourne. In Grounds' original design the spire was to be encased in copper cladding but it didn't work out due to budget constraints. In 1996 the height of the spire was increased to 162m after cost-cutting had restricted it to 115m on completion in 1981.

The Arts Centre is unusual, more so than other modern complexes, in that its theatres and concert halls are largely underground. In fact, Hamer Hall was originally intended to be almost entirely underground, but problems with the foundations, including water seepage, meant the structure had to be raised to three storeys above ground.

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