Regent Theatre (Brisbane)
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The Regent Theatre in Brisbane is one of the Hoyt's Picture Palaces from the 1920s. It is located at 167 Queen Street.
It was anticipated as the first American-style picture palace to be built in Queensland, and was one of four operated by Hoyts in Australia. 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.
This theatre was one of four Regent Theatres built in Australia during the 1920s. Formerly known as picture palaces, they reflected the opulence and grandeur of the Hollywood era.
The original interior decoration was a mixture of Gothic and Romanesque.
The mezzanine moyer contained 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.
