Max Watt's House of Music (Melbourne)

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Max Watt's House of Music is a live music venue on Swanston Street in Melbourne, Australia. The 850-capacity venue is in the basement of the Century Building designed by architect Marcus Barlow.

Venue history

The venue originally opened in 1940 as the Century Theatre cinema. [1] Over the subsequent decades it underwent various changes in name and focus, from newsreels to European films, before closing as a cinema in 1985. [2]

The Hi-fi Bar & Ballroom opened in the former cinema in 1998, and become a major live music venue in Melbourne. [3] In 2015, after being placed in administration, [4] the venue became Max Watt's House of Music under new ownership. [5]

The venue also hosts comedy as the Festival Club during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where the ABC's Comedy Up Late is filmed. [6]

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References

  1. "NEW CENTURY THEATRE". The Age . No. 26, 559. Victoria, Australia. 31 May 1940. p. 14. Retrieved 15 October 2017 via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Capitol 2 Theatre in Melbourne, AU - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  3. "A decade in the underground: Hi-fi Bar and Ballroom turns 10". FasterLouder. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  4. Argoon, Ashley (13 February 2015). "Melbourne music institution goes bust". Herald Sun . Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  5. "The Hi-Fi Venues Have A New Australian-Based Owner - Music Feeds". Music Feeds. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  6. "ABC To Broadcast Melbourne Comedy Festival Club Performances". theMusic. Retrieved 15 October 2017.