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Uploaded on: October 29, 2026

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The original Valhalla Cinema building at 214-216 Victoria Street, Richmond was destroyed by a fire and demolished decades ago, in June 1988.

•Originally built in 1913 as the Crown Theatre (later the Victoria Theatre), the site operated as the iconic, cult-subversive Valhalla Cinema from 1976 to 1987.

•Valhalla relocated their business to the Westgarth Theatre in Northcote in December 1987. In true offbeat Valhalla fashion, they screened the first half of The Blues Brothers at Richmond, had the audience travel across town during intermission (causing a massive traffic jam), and screened the second half at the new venue.

•Just months after the cinema closed and left the building vacant, a fire broke out in the empty structure in mid-1988. The damage was severe enough that the building was fully demolished in June 1988.

The site was subsequently replaced by a commercial development of shops and offices.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -