Regent Theatre (Brisbane)

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The Regent Theatre in Brisbane is one of the Hoyts' Picture Palaces from the 1920s. It is located at 167 Queen Street.

It was anticipated as the first American-style picture palace, reflecting the opulence and grandeur of the great Hollywood era, to be built in Queensland, and was one of many operated by Hoyts in Australia. Other Significant Regent Cinemas around Australia were the Regent George Street Sydney (demolished) Regent Rundle Mall Adelaide (closed) and the glorious Regent Melbourne, Collins Street, magnificently restored in the 1990's and now a major successful live theatre for Melbourne.[1] Smaller Regent cinemas include the Regent in downtown Ballarat Victoria, now remodelled into a popular multi screen complex.

The picture palaces were built to imitate Hollywood's Golden Era, and were designed to function as a cinema and theatre.

The Regent was designed by Melbourne architect, Charles N. Hollinshed, with assistance from the Brisbane-based Richard Gailey Junior and Aaron Bolot.

It was erected in 1929 and opened on 8 November. The Regent's entrance foyer is on the narrow Queen Street site, and the auditorium was constructed on the broader site in Elizabeth Street.

The original interior decoration was a mixture of Gothic and Romanesque.

The mezzanine foyer contains a white marble staircase, made from Queensland marble, along with vaulted cathedral ceilings.

In 1978 the Regent was marked for demolition, but after lobbying from the Save the Regent campaign, a compromise was met. The new building owners, Birch, Carroll & Coyle, agreed to redevelop the Regent while retaining elements of the existing decoration. The marble staircase and vaulted ceilings of the mezzanine foyer were saved, as was the entrance foyer ceiling mural.

In February 2008 the Regent is again under threat with a proposal to demolish the cinemas but keep the Queen Street entrance and other historical elements. According to the Brisbane Times (accessed February 15 2008, link:[2]), a Facebook campaign has been launched in a bid to save this treasure of Brisbane's history.