page_title: Palais Theatre
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Palais Theatre / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: A theatre pictured at night with a car passing by in front of the exterior.
context_page_description: The Palais Theatre is an historic Picture Palace located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda. Replacing an earlier cinema of the same name destroyed in a fire, the new theatre, designed by Henry Eli White opened in 1927. With a capacity of nearly 3,000 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia.
  It is one of the early 20th century picture palaces to survive in Australia, and is included on the Victorian Heritage Register. It is a major local landmark and an important part of the early 20th century development of the St Kilda beach foreshore as an entertainment precinct.
  In 2015, the Palais Theatre was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.
context_section_description: Typical of 1920s picture theatres, the architectural style is ornate, eclectic and exotic. The arched roof and twin domed towers of the facade is an arrangement shared by other entertainment buildings in the foreshore area, notably Luna Park next door, the St Kilda Sea Baths, and long demolished landmarks like the Palais de Danse to the north, and the St. Moritz Ice Rink on the Upper Esplanade.
  The architect Henry White stated that he adopted no particular style in the design of the Palais Pictures building, and the interior has been described at times as Spanish, French, Oriental and Italian.
  The exterior does features Spanish Baroque detailing on top of the towers, while the interior is broadly neoclassical with tall columns and pilasters and a shallow dome in the auditorium, with elaborate textured plaster surfaces and detailing in the Adam style, and extensive concealed lighting.
caption: The theatre illuminated at night.
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