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Taken on: May 22, 2022

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Athenaeum Theatre 188 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 1957

A niche at the top contains a statue of Athena.

The Building History - Land was purchased in 1840 in Collins Street and the original building, a two-storey, rendered brick structure, was completed in 1842.

By 1854, two single-storey wings were added to the facade on either side of the entrance to provide commercial accomodation and a valuable source of income for the organisation. In 1872 a new hall was designed and built by architect Alfred Smith. The organisation was renamed the Melbourne Athenaeum and the refurbished building opened by the Governor of Victoria.

The next construction occurred in 1886, when the front of the building as it now stands was constructed, creating a three-storey building with a classical stuccoed facade, an example of the boom-style architecture of the late 1880s.

A niche at the top contains a statue of Athena. The architects for the new work were Smith and Johnston.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -