Athenaeum, Melbourne

Athenaeum

The Melbourne Athenaeum
Address	188 Collins Street Melbourne Australia
Designation	Victorian Heritage Register, Register of Historic Buildings
Capacity	880 (theatre one)
Current use	Live theatre, comedy, library, readings
Construction
Opened	1839
Rebuilt	1885-1886
Years active	177–178
Architect	Smith & Johnson
Website
www.melbourneathenaeum.org.au

The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum is one of the oldest public institutions in Victoria, Australia, founded in 1839. Its building in the Melbourne City Centre consists of a main theatre hosting a range of theatre, comedy and music performances, a small studio theatre, and a subscription library. The building was added to the National Trust's Register of Historic Buildings in 1981 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The theatre is part of Melbourne's East End Theatre District.

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 called the Melbourne Mechanics' Institute, it was renamed in 1846 to the Melbourne Mechanics' Institution and School of Arts.

The building at 188 Collins Street was completed in 1842. 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 1872. At that time, as now, a focal point was the library. In 1877, membership was 1,681 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 Athenaeum Hall. The Hall became a regular venue for screening films and the premiere of The Story of the Kelly Gang by the Tait brothers, the world's first dramatic feature film, was at the Athenaeum in 1906.

The theatre in its present form, a proscenium arch theatre with 880 seats on three levels, was created in 1924. It was the first venue in Australia to screen talking pictures, presenting The Jazz Singer in February 1929. From the 1920s to the early 1970s, the theatre was mainly used as a cinema for British films. The Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) leased the theatre from 1976 to 1985 when the lease was taken over by various entrepreneurs who formed AT Management in 1997.