Union Hall was a theatre, hall and lecture theatre located on the North Terrace campus of the University of Adelaide, in South Australia. Constructed in 1958, Union Hall served as a performance venue for various festivals and productions until 2007. It was demolished in November 2010 to make way for a new science precinct.
In 1955, in response to a shortage of student space on the North Terrace campus, the University of Adelaide began a public appeal for funds with which to renovate and expand the buildings of the Adelaide University Union (AUU). [1] The appeal raised £103,761, with notable contributions including £6,000 from the AUU and £12,000 from GM Holden. [2] The majority of these funds were set aside to erect a multi-purpose theatre for the Union's use. Designed by South Australian architect Louis Laybourne Smith, [3] the building was named "Union Hall", and opened on 8 August 1958. [4] The Hall was built with 499 seats, thereby avoiding an ordinance requiring a full-time fireman for buildings with seating capacity of 500 or more. [1] [5] [6]
Union Hall was a venue for Adelaide's first Festival of the Arts in 1960 and the venue for the first 10 Adelaide Film Festivals, from 1959 to 1968. [7] [8]
There was a cafe/bar called "The Catacombs" operating in the basement of Union Hall in the 1970s and 1990s, which was popular with a more alternative crowd than the other bars in Union House. It never did particularly well, and closed a few times.
In 1999, control of Union Hall was handed from the AUU to the University[ citation needed ], and the hall was renovated into a lecture theatre, in the process reducing its capacity to 415 seats. [5] In 2007, the University ceased allowing the use of the hall for artistic and theatrical purposes, turning it into a full-time lecture theatre. [9] [10]
In September 2009, the University of Adelaide announced that Union Hall would be demolished in order to construct a new science precinct centred on a proposed Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing. [11] The announcement was met with opposition from the local arts community, [3] the National Trust of South Australia, [12] and the Adelaide City Council. [13] In February 2010, the hall was provisionally listed on the State Heritage Register, [14] [15] allowing for submissions from the public regarding the heritage status of the hall. [7] However, in September, South Australian Minister for Environment and Conservation Paul Caica removed it from the register, [16] and the hall was demolished between 17 and 26 November of the same year. [17]
Construction started soon after, on the Bragg's building. It completed construction in 2013 and was inaugurated by the new Vice-Chancellor Warren Bebbington. [18]
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Union Hall was originally constructed to seat 499, with a stage 72 feet (22 m) from front to back and a proscenium arch of 38 feet (12 m). Under the stage was an extensive basement with dressing rooms, and electrical room and a workshop. [6]
Photos of Union Hall: 2005:left; 2006:front; 2010:left, centre, right
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