Brisbane Queen Street viewed from Edward Street toward North Quay, with the Regent Theatre (middle left) just after opening in 1929, photograph 1930 / BCC-B120-31476 / Courtesy: Brisbane City Council Queen Street with the Regent Theatre (middle right) / 31955-0001-0005 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane Regent Theatre, Queen Street facade H.B. The Hoyts Theatre closed in 2010 to be replaced with offices. Unfortunately the auditorium interior was demolished and converted into a four-screen complex by Hoyts in 1979, however the building exterior, including the entrance, main foyers and marble staircase remains intact and are now heritage listed. The Theatre auditorium was even cooled by the first air conditioning in Queensland.Ī large dome stretching above the stalls featured a one-ton bronze chandelier in the centre of an oval ceiling medallion set within a “sunburst” surrounded by elaborate decorative plaster work, one of many crystal chandeliers in the dress circle ceiling.
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Seating more than 2,500 patrons it was one of the largest theatres in Australia and comprised an extensive stage featuring the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ. The theatre located on a prestigious Queen Street address in the heart of the city, was the only ‘American-style’ picture palace to be built in Queensland, reflecting the opulence and grandeur of the great Hollywood era. Opening in 1929, the Regent Theatre accommodated all classes of theatrical entertainment from opera to vaudeville and films, with construction approval in 1926, at a time when picture palaces were gaining popularity worldwide. Arrival in Brisbane The Wurlitzer console unpacked at the Brisbane premises of Whitehouse Bros, 1929 The Wurlitzer being transported to the Regent Theatre, 17 September 1929 / Courtesy: Trove, National Library Australia Installation at the Regent Theatre in 1929 Installation of the Wurlitzer console at the Regent Theatre in 1929 by the staff of Whitehouse Bros / Photography: Howell Whitehouse / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane Staff of Whitehouse Bros inside the main chamber of the organ at the Regent Theatre in 1929 / Photography: Howell Whitehouse Diaphone pipes for the Wurlitzer organ being installed in the ceiling of the Regent Theatre in Brisbane, 1929 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane Console painted white Organist Les Richmond playing the Wurlitzer organ at the Regent Theatre, c.1964 / 46254 / Courtesy: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane Regent Theatre
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Its largest pipe is 32 feet in length and 3 feet 6 inches in diameter and the organ boasted 600 miles of electric wiring and over 2,000,000 separate electric contacts.īy 1944 when the Regent Theatre Orchestra was disbanded, the Console was moved to the orchestra lift in the center of the stage, by then its timber casing had been painted white.
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At a cost reported in the press of £25–30,000, it was the last instrument of its type in Australia and remained at the Regent until 1964.Ĭomprising 15 ranks - sets of pipes producing the same timbre for each note - and percussion, spread over three keyboard manuals and pedals, it claimed to be the largest organ possessed by any theatre in the county. This Wurlitzer Pipe Organ was originally in Brisbane’s Regent Theatre which opened on 8 November 1929, installed on an electric lift to the left of the orchestra pit. The Australian Cinémathèque provides an ongoing program of film that you’re unlikely to see elsewhere, offering a rich and diverse experience of the moving image, showcasing the work of influential filmmakers and international cinema, rare 35mm prints, and recent restorations including silent films with live musical accompaniment. QAGOMA is the only Australian art gallery with purpose-built facilities dedicated to film and the moving image. It is a rare opportunity to be able to view silent films on the big screen some hundred years since ‘talkies’ became a theatre sensation - thus ending the silent film era - however our Wurlitzer brings these films back to life as they were intended to be enjoyed.
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Hidden beneath the stage of the purpose-built Australian Cinémathèque at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), and only revealed for special screenings is our much loved 1929 Wurlitzer Style 260 Opus 2040 Pipe Organ.