The Arts Centre Melbourne is a huge complex that is made up of different concert halls and theatres.
It is located on Southbank, adjacent to Southgate.
You can see many different types of performing arts in the Arts Centre, as well as many well known artists.
It was designed by the well known architect Roy Grounds.
This is the man also responsible for the building of the National Gallery of Victoria.
It seems that wherever he has been, greatness has formed!
Arts Centre History
It was in 1960 that the plans for the Arts Centre were approved, but the actual construction only started in 1973 after a few hiccups were overcome.
The complex did not open all at once; instead it opened in parts. First to open was the Hamer Hall in 1982, and then the building with the theatres only opened two years later in 1984.
The Arts Centre can be found at the Yarra River and St Kilda Road, which is one of the main thoroughfares of the city. The Arts Centre is featured on the Victorian Heritage Register, which is a list of all places of cultural heritage importance to the State of Victoria.
Getting Tickets
If you would like to get tickets to enter the Arts Centre, you can get these at the Box Office in the Theatres Building, which is in the Smorgon Family Plaza. They are open every day from 9 am to 9 pm except Sundays. Another Box Office can be found in the Hamer Hall, but these tickets can only be purchased one hour before the performances. Tickets to the Arts Centre can be booked online, at the Box Office, by fax, by email, by ordinary mail or through TicketMaster.
Arts Centre – A Landmark
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The Arts Centre is often used as a landmark in the city because it has a huge steel spire as well as a massive wrap-around base. The spire that came with the original building was built by the famous Roy Grounds and stood at 115 metres in the air, but after nearly two decades the spire started to deteriorate and therefore had to be replaced.
The new spire that was completely built in 1996 is even bigger than the previous one built by Roy, as this one now stands at 162 metres. Even though it has the original design of the one built before, the spire that stands today was not built by Roy Grounds. The magnificent spire is lit up by approximately 21,653 feet of optic fibre tubing, 492 feet of neon tubing that can be found on the mast, and then about 14,000 glowing lamps that feature on the skirt of the spire. It really is a beautiful sight to see, so make sure you get a glimpse of it at night as well!
You may just be interested in the building and the spire.
You may want to see a show.
Whatever the reason, when you are in the Melbourne city centre, come and check out the Arts Centre Melbourne!
