Inner West council has thrown open the doors of seven town halls to arts organisations free of charge as it tries to revive its buildings and address a performing arts crisis
was filmed in Petersham town hall. But earlier this year, the 82-year-old building in Sydney opened its doors to the Inner West Theatre Company’s production of the classic, free of charge.and country dances. But in recent decades many have been under-used or left entirely empty as modern buildings serve changing community needs.
“It’s such a large town hall with that beautiful, big foyer, which means that we can operate our front of house … we have a theatre liquor licence so we can run a little bar,” Wheatley says. Most town halls in Australia were built in the late 19th and early 20th century. Lisa Murray, formerly the historian for City of Sydney council, says when they opened they were “cutting edge” – many of the Victorian buildings boast Italianate-style exteriors, a clock tower and ornate halls.But after the second world war, Murray says, councils began building civic centres to expand their services and in the 1950s there was an “explosion” of municipal libraries.
“There’s acoustic treatments that may be necessary but absolutely, in every town across Australia, there is one of these beautiful buildings that’s currently being greatly under-utilised.”the state government is also investing in the restoration of town halls to make them fit for modern community purposes, including through the. It has recently restored its town hall, built in 1837, after cracks began to appear in the masonry and the symmetrical facade started to rotate.
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