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The Demolition of Brisbane’s Regent Theatre — 1979

For generations, the Regent Theatre was one of Brisbane’s grandest places to watch a film. Its elaborate interior brought a sense of occasion to an ordinary night at the pictures, making cinema-going feel like a special event.

By the 1970s, the building faced redevelopment. The destruction of its magnificent auditorium in 1979 became part of a wider debate about whether historic buildings should make way for modern commercial development.

The Regent remains a powerful example of how quickly a city can lose an important piece of its architectural identity. Would you have saved the original theatre, even if doing so meant changing the redevelopment plans?

Photo credit: State Library of Queensland notes via LOST BRISBANE.

Nathan Murray writes - Just to clarify, the Regent Theatre box was gutted by Hoyts themselves, who converted the theatre into a 4 screen cinema complex. It wasn’t part of any wider redevelopment.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -