Comments from PreserveHistory12

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PreserveHistory12
PreserveHistory12 commented about Regent Theatre on Dec 13, 2011 at 7:08 am

i dont understand why adelaide city council gets it soo wrong all the time when so often they can get it so right….. Example – North Terrace, amazing with the bench seats, box hedges, grass etc or another example Adelaide Arcade, just Amazingly preserved.

However….then look at Regent Arcade they have approved for a horrible globalize music pounding store to move in upstairs rather than keep the amazing cinema that was previously there, it could have been incredibly restored and sold to Wallis for instance. If you haven’t already seen it, well the latest in Regent arcade, they removed the beautiful painted ceiling at the end of the arcade as well as the large lead light glass spelling out Regent Arcade and some of the bay window shopping outfits. In its place floor to floor glass. Lovely, now the arcade has floor to floor glass on the entrance from grenfell street, half dwn the arcade are the old beautiful bay window fronts, you reach the end of the arcade and greeted with cheap and nasty glass windows with a rust looking light fixture at the tops of the doorways and booming music from the globalize store has consumed the old theatre space (not to mention the graffiti art they have allowed on the change room doors) how offensive to the history of the place. You would imagine that it would be heritage listed and protected – afraid not its now a ruin of another sort.

How disappointing that melbourne and sydney seem to recognise the importance of the old and new they pull off the restorations so well however, adelaide appear to fail every time. Regent arcade could have been high class shopping boutiques now its trash the shops dont even complement themselves.

THE END, (PS. Please feel free to comment love to hear others opinions). And just to clarify im not dissing contemporary shopping fitouts, rather suggesting a more tasteful, considered approach would be much more successful for both the owner and consumer. Look at Royal Aracde Melbourne or Queen Victoria Building, Sydney.