The RMIT Purchase

After the Mike Walsh’s lease expired in November of 1998, RMIT University Purchased the Theatre on April 1999 (Naveretti, P 2000). It was quite apparent that RMIT purchased the theatre majorly to accommodate their lectures. In the news article ‘Exit Stage Neglect’, it is stated that on the new restoration of the Melbourne Capitol Theatre was to cater for 600 RMIT business students. As this was Melbourne Capitol 'Theatre' when Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Griffin designed it wasn’t intended to host lectures. So When RMIT purchased the Capitol Theatre in May 1999, they have been subtracting it and renovating it ever since. Since the audio and visual equipment has been out-dated the university has added new state-of-the-art equipment. The renovations also included four lifts for disabled access as well as seating for 600 students (Hudson, S 2000).

Another major part of the reopening of the Capitol Theatre by RMIT was the open sweeping foyers, lounges, and balconies that were closed to the public, back in the 1960’s.The newly opened Capitol Theatre will not only be benefiting the RMIT students. The students will only be in the building from Monday to Thursday. Friday to Sunday. On the other days festivals would take place instead of lectures. Festivals such as the Melbourne International Film and Comedy Festivals. It could also be booked out for private functions where the Capitol theatre could be adequate. Robyn Oswald-Jacobs (Melbourne-based arts/heritage communications specialist) said “I think we have managed to strike a balance between student need and heritage requirements” (Hudson, S 2000).

In 7 November 1999, RMIT University and over six hundred guests will celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the opening of the Capitol Theatre. By this time Six Degrees (An Architecture Company) had started refurbishment of the Theatre. They estimated the world will take some years. Six Degrees mainly focused on redoing the inappropriate 1960's work. This included the reopening disused spaces, safety upgrades and a creation of a disabled access. The project costed $2,200,000 (Romer, L 2005).

During the past 75 years the theatre was notable for a number of early architectural concepts such as the use of reinforced concrete, stained glass detail and a very complex three dimensional spatial arrangement. But its most spectacular feature is the magical geometric plaster ceilings (Romer, L 2005). Since the start of March 2000, the Capitol Theatre had catered as an auditorium for lectures and presentations. Business, constructed environment and art, design and communication faculties of RMIT were the primary uses of the Capitol Theatre (Romer, L 2005).

In 2005, the Capitol Theatre received a $190,000 grant from the State Government. On behalf of Heritage Victoria, the member for Melbourne (Glenys Romanes) presented the RMIT Vice-Chancellor (Margaret Gardner) with the cheque on April 29^th. The funding would directly go to refurbishing the ceiling (Romer, L 2005).