page_title: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Empire Theatre, Toowoomba / History
caption_attribution_description: Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia: Empire Theatre, exterior
context_page_description: The Empire Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre at 56 & 56A Neil Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on May 31, 1994.
  The design of the building is art deco in style, reminiscent of the "glory days" of Hollywood with palm trees framing the exterior and two plinth-mounted fish tanks in the metallic gold and bronze of the entry foyer. One of the Empire Theatre's most striking features is the grand proscenium arch.
  The stage is over 13 metres wide and 12 metres deep with approximately 20 metres to the grid and more than 15 metres of wing space combined. It has 80 fly lines including 7 overhead lighting bars and an orchestra pit that can be hydraulically raised to audience floor or stage thrust levels.
context_section_description: The present Empire Theatre consists of two layers of development, with the bulk of the fabric and design dating to 1933, but incorporating substantial sections of an earlier theatre which was erected on the site in 1911. Essentially, the Empire Theatre is a large, 1933, purpose-designed, Art Deco picture theatre.
  The first Empire Theatre, a large masonry picture theatre with a seating capacity of 2,200, was opened on 29 June 1911, and proved enormously successful. It was built for an association of six Toowoomba businessmen and Brisbane entertainment promoter EJ Carroll (later one of the principals of Queensland's home-grown Birch, Carroll & Coyle picture theatre chain), who had commenced screening films in Toowoomba's large Austral Hall in Margaret Street in 1909. The screenings were so popular that the erection of a purpose-designed picture theatre was inevitable. Titles to the Neil Street site were transferred to members of the association in 1910, and ultimately to Empire Theatre Ltd in 1911.
  The 1911 theatre was designed by architect George Lane, formerly employed by Toowoomba architects James Marks and his son Harry James Marks from c. 1900 until 1906, and in partnership with Harry James Marks in 1909-10. The contractor was Henry Andrews. The design incorporated a proscenium stage, and the movies shared early programmes with vaudeville acts. The building was renovated in 1928, and in the following year sound equipment was installed. The first "talkie" seen in Toowoomba - The Jazz Singer (US, 1927) - was screened at the Empire Theatre on 2 September 1929. By 1933, Dan Carroll had replaced EJ Carroll in Empire Theatre Ltd, and it would appear that the Empire was associated with the Birch, Carroll & Coyle theatre chain.
  The first Empire Theatre, to which the Toowoomba community had developed a strong attachment, was destroyed by fire on 22 February 1933. Almost immediately a design for a new Empire Theatre, to cost approximately £30,000, was commissioned by the owners. In the interim, Empire Theatre Ltd leased the Town Hall for their film screenings.
  Designs for the new theatre were prepared by the well-known Brisbane architectural firm of TR Hall & LB Phillips (1929–48). Tenders were called in April 1933 and the contract was let Kell & Rigby, of Sydney, Brisbane and Toowoomba, in May. Substantial sections of the 1911 brick walling had survived the fire, and much of this was incorporated into the new building. Accommodating 2,500 patrons, the second Empire Theatre was Queensland's largest provincial theatre, and second only in seating capacity to Brisbane's Regent. Nationally, the Empire was exceeded in size only by the State, Regent, and St Kilda Palais theatres in Melbourne, the State and Capitol theatres in Sydney, and the Brisbane Regent.
  Of particular note was the use of 70 long tons (71 t) of structural steel to frame the large gallery which spans the width of the theatre. The structural engineer was CW Alexander of Hurren, Alexander and Langman of Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide, and the fabricators were Evans Deakin & Co. Ltd of Brisbane. The steel members were fabricated in sections in Brisbane, transported by Queensland Rail to Toowoomba, and assembled (riveted) on site. At the time of construction, it was considered an exceedingly intricate piece of structural engineering, unique in Queensland, and a "triumph" in steel construction.
  The new theatre blended contemporary art deco style with picture palace ethos, much of the romantic atmosphere being conveyed by European-styled diffused lighting. Of particular note was the fact that not a single column interrupted audience view of stage or screen. The bio box was the largest in Queensland; acoustics were excellent; and the theatre contained one of the largest provincial stages in Australia, attracting all types of performance from vaudeville to opera. To accommodate large stage productions, the new design incorporated a large stage, fly tower and dressing rooms.
  Edward Gold, the theatre's chief electrician and founder of radio station 4GR at Toowoomba, was respo
caption: Empire Theatre exterior, 2005
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