CAPITAL THEATRE (FORMER MASONIC HALL)

 

 

The Capital Theatre (former Masonic Hall) Bendigo, a cement rendered building designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Bendigo architects William Charles Vahland and Robert Getzschmann in 1874. At the time of construction, the building housed several public and private uses, including lodge rooms, a tavern, and a concert hall that was later converted to a theatre.  

The Capital Theatre (former Masonic Hall), Bendigo is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criterion for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register:  
Criterion A 
Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history. 
Criterion D 
Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects 

 

The Capital Theatre (former Masonic Hall) is historically significant due to associations with freemasonry, which played a long and important role in the cultural life of Victorian towns. The large and impressive building is illustrative of the strength of the freemason community in Bendigo and the importance it played in the development of the goldfields town from its early establishment in 1854. The Hall provided a focus for their activities and made a statement about their influence and role in the community. It is also significant for the important role it played in the wider community as a venue for a variety of activities, from its construction in 1874, through to the present day. Alterations from the 1890s onwards have emphasised public use in this centrally located building, accommodating various forms of entertainment. 

 

The Capital Theatre (former Masonic Hall) is architecturally significant as an important and largely intact example of the work of Bendigo architects, Vahland and Getzschmann, who were both members of the lodge and architects who executed many buildings in the Bendigo area. As one of the founding members of the Golden and Corinthian Masonic Lodge in Bendigo, Secretary of the Lodge for 47 years and Past Deputy Grand Master in Bendigo, Vahland's close association with freemasonry is of significance as architect of the building. The Hall is an outstanding example of the large-scale application of the Corinthian order to the classical temple form. The adoption of a temple form for Masonic buildings is illustrative of the ideas of freemasons, heightened by the use of allegorical references to freemasonry in the interior detailing. The imposing front façade also contributes to the streetscape of View Street, one of the finest groups of nineteenth century buildings in Victoria.