ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
SIGNIFICANCE & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE
COUNCIL
NAME:
FORMER HOYTS CINEMA CENTRE
LOCATION:
134-144 BOURKE STREET, MELBOURNE
VHR NUMBER:
PROV H2335
CATEGORY:
HERITAGE PLACE
FILE NO:
13/008712
HERMES NUMBER:
196067
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL:
 That the Former Hoyts Cinema Centre be included in the Victorian Heritage Register under the
Heritage Act 1995 [Section 32 (1)(a)]
Recommendation Date:
17 January 2014
EXTENT OF NOMINATION
All of the building known as the Former Cinema Hoyts Complex, 134-144 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
The nomination did not seek controls for the interiors of individual lots.
RECOMMENDED REGISTRATION
DRAFT ONLY: NOT ENDORSED BY THE HERITAGE COUNCIL
All of the place shown hatched on Diagram 2335 encompassing all lots on Plan of Subdivision 428191 and
the awning/balcony to Bourke Street.
The extent of registration of the Former Hoyts Cinema Centre on the Victorian Heritage Register affects the
whole place shown on Diagram 2335 including the land and building. The interiors are exempt from the
permit requirements of the Heritage Act 1995 (see “Permit Exemptions”).
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 2
STATEMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
DRAFT ONLY: NOT ENDORSED BY THE HERITAGE COUNCIL
What is significant?
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre, comprising the former entrance structure and office tower above, and the
former cinema auditoria and bulk store to the rear.
History Summary
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre was constructed from 1966-69 in the well established entertainment
precinct at the east end of Bourke Street. Designed by Sydney architect Peter Muller, it was the first multicinema complex in Victoria and its coupling with an office tower was innovative at the time. The advent of
television in Melbourne a decade earlier had seen the demise of the large city theatre and the provision of a
facility with three smaller cinemas running simultaneously, a restaurant and associated office tower with
rentable space, presented the Hoyts Company with an economically viable option. Established in 1908 as
Hoyts Pictures Pty Ltd, this company played a large role in the development of the cinema industry in
Victoria, particularly after the introduction of talking films in the late 1920s. Many large, grand theatres were
built and well known architects were employed by Hoyts to design their buildings. In reaction to the
introduction of television, Hoyts began an expansion, modernisation and replacement programme in the
mid-1960s and the largest project was the construction of the $4.5m 13 storey cinema and office tower
complex. The genesis for the design by Peter Muller can be seen in a similar project, which remained unbuilt,
for Hoyts in Newcastle, NSW in 1960. The originality of the concept and the design ensured that the Cinema
Centre received much attention during and after construction, and ultimately led to the closure of the Hoyts
-owned Regent Theatre in Collins Street in 1970. Two floors of the office tower were allocated to the
Victorian branch of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd and the registered offices of Hoyts
Theatres Ltd and the remaining ten floors were made available for rent. In 1982 one of the cinemas was
divided into two separate cinemas and in 2005 the Cinema Centre was closed after thirty-five years of
operation. In 2009 the lower levels of the complex were converted into a health club resulting in extensive
remodelling of the cinemas and their associated foyer spaces. The tower has continued to provide rentable
office space.
Description Summary
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is a carefully detailed building comprising a two-level podium that
originally housed the cinemas and associated foyers on split levels, a basement that housed plant, car
parking and store rooms, and an office tower that rises above the podium. The cinema auditoria were
located at the rear of the site, structurally separate from the remainder of the building. Principally an offform concrete building, it is highly distinctive, innovative and individualistic in design and clearly draws
inspiration from Asia. The symmetrical tower block resembles an inverted pagoda with each rising floor level
increasing in size. The overhang which resulted provided shading, reduced energy needs and allowed the
unusual use of timber window frames in a city office building. Muller’s design was based on a structural
system which was inspired by oriental post and bracket construction to achieve the stepped form of the
tower and this resulted in a distinctive multi-storey building profile in contrast to the commonly used curtain
wall or precast panel facades of the 1960s. The tower dominates the exterior form and comprises massive
off-form concrete side buttresses, both vertical and tapered in form, which contrast with horizontal concrete
balustrading of the front and rear facades. A dramatic fleche, with five encircling rings at its base, crowns the
tower. The concrete throughout the building is treated in a highly Brutalist manner with the rough marks of
the construction boards remaining clearly evident. Interiors of the public areas were well detailed but little
of this remains, with the exception of dentilated concrete beams of the original entrance plaza and lobbies.
Muller’s early work, including the Cinema Centre, displayed characteristics similar to the work of Frank Lloyd
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 3
Wright and many architectural critics, both contemporary and more recent, have regarded Muller as
amongst the best exponents of Wright’s philosophies in Australia.
This site is part of the traditional land of the Kulin Nation.
How is it significant?
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is of architectural and historical 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
Why is it significant?
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is significant at the State level for the following reasons:
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre introduced the first multi-cinema complex to Victoria and consequently
has an important association with the development of the cinema industry in the State. The building
represents a revitalisation of the cinema industry which had not been seen since the advent of talking
movies in the late 1920s. It was the first major excursion into cinema construction in Australia after World
War II and was the first cinema at the time to make full economic use of its valuable city site by
incorporating a rentable office tower. It was the first multi-cinema complex to be designed with three
cinemas in the southern hemisphere and the third of its type in the world (with others constructed in
Toronto and New York). [Criterion A]
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is of architectural significance as a highly innovative and individualistic
building with a distinctive tower which dominates the overall design. It is unique in Victoria. Unusually the
overall form of the tower draws clear inspiration from Asia and departs from the conventional modernist
curtain wall or precast panelled facade which was prevalent in 1960s multi-storey office design. The building
displays early characteristics of the emerging Brutalist style in the use of massive expanses of exposed offform concrete and the obvious imprint of construction boards. [Criterion D]
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is also significant for the following reasons, but not at the State level:
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is significant for its associations with well known Australian architect, Peter
Muller, who achieved early recognition as a Sydney house designer and whose work embodied organic
architecture, in a similar manner to Frank Lloyd Wright. Muller was one of the first Australian architects to
embody Japanese ideals, and this oriental influence is evident in his largest commission, the Former Hoyts
Cinema Centre.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 4
PROPOSED PERMIT POLICY
DRAFT ONLY – NOT YET APPROVED BY THE HERITAGE COUNCIL
Preamble
The purpose of the Permit Policy is to assist when considering or making decisions regarding works to a
registered place. It is recommended that any proposed works be discussed with an officer of Heritage
Victoria prior to making a permit application. Discussing proposed works will assist in answering questions
the owner may have and aid any decisions regarding works to the place.
The extent of registration of the Former Hoyts Cinema Centre on the Victorian Heritage Register affects
the whole place shown on Diagram 2335 including the land and the building. Note that the interiors are
exempt from the permit requirements of the Heritage Act 1995 (see “Permit Exemptions”).
Under the Heritage Act a person must not remove or demolish, damage or despoil, develop or alter or
excavate, relocate or disturb the position of any part of a registered place or object without approval. It is
acknowledged, however, that alterations and other works may be required to keep places in good repair and
adapt them for use into the future.
If a person wishes to undertake works or activities in relation to a registered place or registered object, they
must apply to the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria for a permit. The purpose of a permit is to enable
appropriate change to a place and to effectively manage adverse impacts on the cultural heritage
significance of a place as a consequence of change. If an owner is uncertain whether a heritage permit is
required, it is recommended that Heritage Victoria be contacted.
Permits are required for anything which alters the place or object, unless a permit exemption is granted.
Permit exemptions usually cover routine maintenance and upkeep issues faced by owners as well as minor
works. They may include appropriate works that are specified in a conservation management plan. Permit
exemptions can be granted at the time of registration (under s.42 of the Heritage Act) or after registration
(under s.66 of the Heritage Act).
It should be noted that the addition of new features or structures to the registered place, as well as
alterations to the exterior of the existing building requires a permit, unless a specific permit exemption is
granted. Interior works to the existing building are permit exempt. The retention of the remaining unpainted
dentilated concrete beams in the original entrance plaza and lobbies of the building is encouraged.
Conservation management plans
It is recommended that a Conservation Management Plan is developed to manage the place in a manner
which respects its cultural heritage significance.
Cultural heritage significance
Overview of significance
The cultural heritage significance of the Former Hoyts Cinema Centre lies in its highly distinctive and
individualistic architectural character which exhibits both oriental and Brutalist qualities. The building also
has important associations with the development of the cinema industry due to its introduction of the multicinema complex to Victoria and the incorporation of a rentable office tower to maximise the use of valuable
space.
a) The section of building listed here is of primary cultural heritage significance in the context of the place.
This is shown in red on the diagram. A permit is required for works or alterations.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 5

Exteriors of the entrance structure of the building and the tower, including the mezzanine level and
awning.
b) The sections of building listed here are deemed to have contributory cultural heritage significance to
the place. They are shown in blue on the diagram. A permit is required for works or alterations.
 Exterior of former auditoria of the cinemas to the rear of the entrance structure
 Exterior of the former bulk store, to the rear of the former auditoria
c) The following sections of building are of no cultural heritage significance. These are shown in yellow on
diagram. Specific permit exemptions are provided for these items:
 Later structure added to the rear of the building fronting Little Bourke Street
 All interiors
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 6
PROPOSED PERMIT EXEMPTIONS (under section 42 of the Heritage
Act)
DRAFT ONLY – NOT YET APPROVED BY THE HERITAGE COUNCIL – RECOMMENDED UNDER SECTION 33 OF
THE HERITAGE ACT
It should be noted that Permit Exemptions can be granted at the time of registration (under s.42(4) of the
Heritage Act). Permit Exemptions can also be applied for and granted after registration (under s.66 of the
Heritage Act)
General Condition: 1.
All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric
of the registered place or object.
General Condition: 2.
Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously
hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place
or object, then the exemption covering such works shall cease and Heritage Victoria shall be notified as soon
as possible.
General Condition: 3.
All works should be informed by a Conservation Management Plan prepared for the place.
General Conditions: 4.
Nothing in this determination prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the
permit exemptions.
General Condition: 5.
Nothing in this determination exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant
planning or building permits from the relevant responsible authority, where applicable.
Specific Exemptions:
Interior
 Internal works to all parts of the Former Hoyts Cinema Centre.
Exterior
 Minor repairs and maintenance which replace like with like.
 Removal of non-original items such as air conditioners, pipe work, ducting, wiring, antennae, aerials etc,
and making good in a manner which does not affect the cultural heritage significance of the place.
 Installation or removal of non-original external fixtures and fittings such as, hot water services and taps.
 Installation and repairing of damp proofing by either injection method or grouted pocket method in a
manner which does not affect the cultural heritage significance of the place.
Addition facing Little Bourke Street (as shown in yellow on diagram)
 Any works including demolition (Note: new construction requires a permit).
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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RELEVANT INFORMATION
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY
MELBOURNE
HERITAGE LISTING INFORMATION
Heritage Overlay:
Heritage Overlay Controls:
External Paint
Internal Alteration
Tree
A small portion at the rear of the building is contained in HO507 (Little
Bourke Street Precinct) however the majority of the building is not
contained in a heritage overlay
No (with exception of small portion at the rear of the building)
No
No
Other Listing: The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is classified by the National Trust at a state level.
HISTORY
CONTEXTUAL HISTORY
Cinemas in Victoria/Melbourne
In the early twentieth century moving pictures were shown in existing halls and theatres in Victoria however
by the time ‘talking films’ were introduced in 1929 a number of specific cinema buildings had been
constructed. As picture-going grew in popularity and became a regular form of entertainment, the size of
theatres increased and grand picture palaces such as the Capitol (1924), State (1929) and the Regent/Plaza
(1929) were built in Melbourne; the latter two being the two largest theatres in Australia when constructed.
Built before the depression of the 1930s, these theatres were grandly conceived and richly decorated,
ensuring that an excursion to a city cinema was a special occasion.
Many city entertainment businesses, including theatres, were established in Bourke Street. The first theatre
to be opened in Bourke Street was the Pavilion in 1841 and by the late 1840s the eastern end in particular
had developed as the city's principal entertainment zone. This continued in the early twentieth century
when theatres and cinemas such as the Britannia (1912-1933); De Luxe (1915-c1975); Empire (1916-1936);
Melba (1911-1978); Palace (1914-c1980); Paramount (1915-1974); St George’s Hall (1909-1914); Star (19111931); and Victoria (1916-1935) were established.
The introduction of television in Melbourne in the late 1950s had a profound effect on cinema going. As a
result the ownership of large theatres became a liability rather than an asset in the early 1960s and many
were demolished, modified or closed. Hoyts’ Capitol Theatre in Swanston Street, initially marked for
demolition, was only saved by the conversion of the vast space a smaller theatre and shopping arcade. In a
similar way, Greater Union’s State Theatre at the corner of Flinders and Russell Streets was converted into
two smaller theatres in 1962: the Forum and Rapallo, while Hoyts’ Regent and Plaza Theatres were closed in
the late 1960s. The Plaza was converted to a shopping arcade while the Regent was marked for demolition,
but eventually saved after remaining closed for a number of years.
However a substantial number of city cinemas survived the introduction of television and in 1966 Sands and
McDougall Directories listed a large number of city film venues. In Bourke Street, east of Swanston Street,
alone the following were listed: New Metro Picture Theatre, Embassy Theatre, My Fair Lady Theatre, Hoyts’
Esquire Picture Theatre, Paris Theatre, Tivoli Theatre, Times Theatrette and the Odeon Picture Theatre. That
same year the large multi-cinema complex was introduced to Melbourne with the construction of the first
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 8
three cinema complex, the Hoyts Cinema Centre in Bourke Street, and this trend has continued into the
twenty first century.
Hoyts Cinemas
The Hoyts Company played a large role in the development of the cinema industry throughout Victoria. The
company began in 1908 when dentist, Arthur Russell, leased St George’s Hall, on the north side of Bourke
Street just east of Swanston Street, to show pictures. He formed a company which he called Hoyts Pictures
Pty Ltd and rebuilt the theatre as the Hoyts De Luxe in 1915. By the early 1920s the company had expanded
into the Melbourne suburbs and Sydney, and in 1926 Hoyts Pictures merged with another company, Electric
Theatres Pty Ltd, to form Hoyts Theatres Ltd, under managing director Frank Thring. The construction of
Regent Theatres in major Australian cities followed in 1928-29.
Through the 20th century the Hoyts Company employed a range of well known architects to design their
cinemas to ensure that interesting buildings were produced to enhance the cinema experience. These
included William Pitt, Cedric Ballantyne, Charles Bohringer, Neville Hollinshed, H V Taylor and Cowper,
Murphy & Associates. Despite the introduction of television in 1957, Hoyts began a large expansion,
modernisation and replacement programme in 1964 and Sydney architect Peter Muller was employed to
design the largest of these. This was the $4.5m 13 storey cinema and office tower complex of 1966-69 which
incorporated three cinemas.
The construction of four new picture theatres in Melbourne in the 18 months leading up to the opening of
the Cinema Centre, indicated a revitalisation of the industry in Australia in the mid-1960s and Hoyts alone
occupied five city theatres in 1966. The Cinema Centre itself was described at the time as a ‘revitalisation not
seen in this country since the advent of ‘talkies’’, which was some forty years earlier. It was the first major
excursion into cinema construction in Australia after World War II and was the first cinema coupled with a
commercial building of a number of similar proposed for the capital cities. Representing an entirely new
concept in cinema design in 1966, the building was only the third in the world to contain three cinemas in
one building, the others being in New York and Toronto, Canada, and was the first of its kind in the southern
hemisphere.
The opening of the Cinema Centre in Bourke Street ultimately led to the closure of the Regent Theatre in
Collins Street in 1970 and that same year Hoyts opened two new cinemas in a complex known as the MidCity Cinemas at 200 Bourke Street.
Architecture of the 1950s and 1960s
A reaction to the abstraction and apparent simplicity of International Modernism emerged in the post-war
period, with architects exploring alternative modes. In Australia architects in the early 1960s explored the
humanist works of Frank Lloyd Wright and the ideas of Brutalism in different ways. From the early 1960s
there was a change in aesthetic preferences, and the slick glass curtain walled buildings of the 1950s, such as
the former ICI House at 1 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne by Bates Smart & McCutcheon (1955-58, VHR
H786), lost favour. Concrete became the favoured material and the skeletal appearance of 1950s buildings
began to give way to solid more modelled forms. This can be seen in a number of city office buildings
including the Former BP House (1962-64), Victorian State Offices (1962-68, VHR H1526), National Mutual Life
Centre (1965), Former BHP House (1969-72, VHR H1699) and Eagle House (1970-1-71, VHR H1807).
The uniformity of pre-war Modernism was challenged in the 1950s by New Brutalism, a term coined by
London architects Peter and Alison Smithson. Built on the work of modern architecture pioneer Le Corbusier,
and largely inspired by his design for the Unité d’Habitation in Marseilles (1952), this robust architecture
became widely accepted around the world. Brutalism incorporated ideas of integrity in expression of
materials (especially brick and off-form concrete), structure and function, and often gave rise to dramatic
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 9
sculptural forms. The term is also closely associated with Le Corbusier’s beton brut, or concrete in the raw,
where the natural state of the material remains when the formwork is removed. The imprint of the
construction boards in the final finish was considered an honest use of such a material.
Although the movement was originally European the influence in Australia came more from built works in
North America and Japan. The Brutalist movement dominated construction in post-war Japan and the new
western thinking led to such innovative architectural designs as the Hiroshima Peace Centre, designed in the
1950s by Kenzo Tange, and combining the Le Corbusier style of modernist architecture with the forms of the
traditional tombs of the rulers of old Japan. Kenzo Tange’s mature works are built of concrete left as rough
as possible and used for dramatic effect.
From the 1950s western architects began to realise that traditional Japanese construction had the simplicity,
lightness and openness that western architects had been advocating, and began to take an interest in the
work of contemporary Japanese architects. The architect and critic Robin Boyd became fascinated by
Japanese architecture in the 1960s and was an advocate for an appreciation of the striking concrete
buildings of post-war Japan. In 1962 he published a book on the work of Kenzo Tange (and in 1968 New
Directions in Japanese Architecture). Tange's later works, such as the Kagawa prefectural office (1955–58),
are notable for restraint of design and the employment of the traditional Japanese aesthetic in modern
technical terms.
Brutalism in Australia and Victoria
In the early 1960s in Australia architects tended to draw primarily on the visual attributes of Brutalism.
Evidence of the style was at first mainly found in brick buildings (for example the so-called ‘Sydney School’
houses). Concrete was used but not yet in the form of the beton brut with the dramatic forms that
characterised much Japanese, European and American architecture of the 1950s. The first example of the
use of beton brut in Australia was at the Hale School Memorial Hall in Perth by Marshall Clifton with Anthony
Brand, completed in 1961, which displayed a strong Japanese influence. In Melbourne among the earliest
and most well-known Brutalist buildings are the Plumbers and Gas Fitters Union Building by Graeme Gunn
(1967-71, VHR H2307) and the 1969-79 work from the office of Daryl Jackson, such as Harold Holt Swim
Centre by Kevin Borland and Daryl Jackson (1969, VHR H69).
The architect: Peter Muller
Sydney architect Peter Muller completed a mix of domestic and commercial work, particularly in the years
from 1952 to 1972. He achieved recognition early as a house designer with a flair for reinterpreting the
organic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and he was one of the first Sydney architects to embody Japanese
ideals in his work. In his work he strove for harmony between people and nature, a balance and integration
between a building and its site, and applied organic principles to Australian sites by using local materials.
Muller’s acceptance of the philosophy of the East and empathy with the eastern-influenced ideas of Wright,
influenced his work. A romantic movement evolved amongst Sydney architects and presented an alternative
to the rational, and somewhat impersonal, approach of the International style of the 1950s and 1960s.
Peter Muller was born in Adelaide in 1927 and graduated in architecture from the University of Adelaide
after only four years of study in 1948. The following year he became a registered architect and moved to
Sydney where he worked with the architects Hennessy & Hennessy. As the first Australian graduate architect
to be awarded the Fulbright Scholarship for study in the United States in 1950, Muller completed a masters
degree at the University of Pennsylvania the following year.
Muller returned to Sydney in 1952, opposed to the international nature of modernism and as a proponent of
the intrinsic nature of natural materials, and was introduced to the philosophy and work of Frank Lloyd
Wright by fellow architect, Adrian Snodgrass. His reinterpretation of Wright’s organic architecture was seen
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 10
immediately when he established an independent architectural practice called ‘The Office of Peter Muller’ in
1953 and began to design buildings which were predominantly domestic in nature. Muller’s work responded
clearly to each individual natural setting, employed natural materials, including timber, brick, stone,
concrete and copper and avoided synthetic materials. A strong sense of both geometry and axial
composition can be seen in his work, with the repetition of simple geometric elements used to unify the
form. Muller developed an independent approach to his work, developing an organic ideal appropriate to
the Australian context, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s his impact on domestic architecture,
particularly in the Sydney region, was significant. He was one of the first architects to be working in what
became described as a ‘Sydney School’ movement, comprising architects who drew inspiration from
different sources but had similar ideas on the use of sympathetic materials, economy, simplicity and an
appreciation of nature. Sources included the organic work of Frank Lloyd Wright, traditional Japanese
architecture, Scandinavian architecture and Brutalism.
Muller embodied Japanese ideals in his work and visits to Japan in 1961, 1963 and 1966 appear to have
influenced Muller’s architectural work, both domestic and commercial. In addition to his domestic work,
Muller designed commercial projects including the IPEC headquarters in Adelaide (1965) and completed a
number of projects for Hoyts Theatres from the early 1960s, including the Hoyts Cinema Centre, Bourke
Street, Melbourne (1966-69). According to Philip Goad, this was his largest commission in Australia.
Muller’s trip in 1966 was reportedly extensive with the purpose being to study the latest developments in
motion picture theatre and office building design. It included visits to the United States, London, Rome and
Tokyo.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Muller furthered his interest in Asian culture, architecture and crafts with the
design of resort hotels in Bali. Designed using local materials and building techniques and built by local
craftsmen and artisans, these designs contrasted greatly with many of the international hotels being built
there. Projects included the Oberoi Bali (1977) and the Amandari Hotel, Bali (1989).
Muller was the chairman of the National Capital Development Commission from 1975 to 1977. His work
focussed on the design and planning of the National Triangle and included the establishment of functional
criteria for the new parliament house.
Peter Muller’s contribution to Australian architecture was well noted in publications in the 1950s and 1960s,
and in more recent times in publications such as the international book, M Emanuel (ed), Contemporary
Architects, 1994 in which Philip Drew contributes an entry on his work. Melbourne architectural historians
such as Philip Goad and Miles Lewis have also acknowledged the quality of his work in various publications.
HISTORY OF PLACE
The Hoyts Cinema Centre was constructed on a site on the north side of Bourke Street between Russell and
Exhibition Streets in 1966-69. In the 1880s the site was occupied by two buildings containing a hotel, tea
rooms, and number of small businesses. MMBW plans from 1895 indicate that the eastern half of the Bourke
Street site was formerly occupied by the Redleap Hotel.
Draper John Payne ran a business in this vicinity from c1886 and Payne’s Bon Marche store was erected on
the site in c1909, to designs by Melbourne architects H W & F B Tompkins. A photograph of this store
indicates that it was an asymmetrically designed building with mansard tower to the west and showroom
entrance to the east. It would appear that this building was modified before being demolished in 1965 for
construction of the Hoyts Cinema Centre.
The Hoyts Cinema Centre was designed in 1966 by Sydney architect Peter Muller and was completed and
opened in 1969. Bernard Evans & Partners were the supervising architects and construction was by Prentice
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 11
Builders Pty Ltd. Muller had been engaged by Hoyts to design a new development in Newcastle, NSW, in
c1960. The proposed development of a Council-owned site included an office tower block, shopping arcade
and cinema however the development did not proceed and Muller used the basis of this design for the Hoyts
Cinema Centre in Melbourne.
Muller’s plan included an entrance lobby, three cinemas with separate foyers, a restaurant and ten storeys
of office space for letting and two floors to house the Victorian branch of Twentieth Century Fox Film
Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd and the registered offices of Hoyts Theatres Ltd. The project cost $4.5m to
construct. Economic considerations demanded full use of the site and the inclusion of office space for rental
made good use of valuable and costly space. Car parking was provided in the basement of the building.
Hoyts General Manager Dale Turnbull said ‘The Cinema Centre is a breakthrough in the economic planning
for theatres in Australian mid-city areas. Such expensive sites can no longer merely accommodate cinemas.
The Cinema Centre has been planned to make full economic use of its site and we hope provides the public
with an aesthetically exciting environment for their enjoyment of motion pictures.’
The complex was designed with three cinemas and a restaurant to be accessible by the general public and an
office tower with ten rentable floors which was to function independently. The cinemas were located to the
rear of the complex and the office tower rose above the front foyer spaces. Functioning simultaneously,
cinemas one, two and three were designed to hold 884, 820 and 746 patrons respectively and circulation
was of prime importance to the working of the complex. A large entrance lobby, with large Jarrah
chandelier, was surrounded on three sides by the first floor restaurant. Split levels, separate foyers and
distinctive interiors provided the three cinemas with their own identity. The office tower was designed with
a separate entry via a dual purpose plaza which also provided access to the cinema lobby.
The exterior and interior of the building was distinguished by its finely detailed, off-form concrete and rough
board-marked concrete and the interior was distinguished further by fine natural timber detailing and brick
finishes. Unlike theatres of an earlier era, the building was devoid of excessive elaboration; instead simple
finishes and detailing were used to highlight the materials employed. This included dentilated detailing on
the soffit of concrete beams in the original entrance plaza and across the facade and beautifully detailed
timber ceilings and chandelier. All concrete was unpainted and the rough board marks of the off-form
concrete were proudly displayed. The tower was designed with an outward taper to the top which allowed
for shading and the use of timber window frames.
Many reports on the building appeared in newspapers and journals from its design in 1966, throughout the
construction process and on opening in June 1969. The new building type, the first three cinema complex in
the southern hemisphere, was widely publicised and discussed in the press. The design of the building was
also discussed in such publications as Architecture and Arts in May 1966, where it was commented that ‘The
natural use internally of off-form concrete, brick and terracotta will be repeated on the outside in an
attempt to make a direct approach to architectural elements rather than repeat the more sophisticated
applied surface treatment which is becoming so common in new city buildings.’
Cinema three was the only original cinema to be constructed on two levels and in 1982 it was divided into
two separate cinemas. In 2005 the Cinema Centre was closed by Hoyts and in 2009 the cinema complex was
transformed into a city health club. This required extensive remodelling of the cinemas and their associated
foyer spaces. The tower has continued to provide rentable office space.
VICTORIAN HISTORICAL THEMES
05
Building Victoria’s industries and workforce
5.6
Entertaining and socialising
09
Shaping cultural and creative life
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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9.3
Achieving design and artistic distinction
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The Former Hoyts Cinema Centre is a freestanding reinforced concrete building with lower levels that
originally housed three cinemas and their associated spaces, a basement below with plant, car parking and
store rooms and an office tower which rises above. The auditoria of the cinemas were located in a low rise
section at the rear of the Bourke Street site and were structurally separate from the remainder of the
building. The tower block was positioned towards the front of the site, above the foyers and main circulation
spaces of the cinemas, but set back from the street front where the main open lobby was situated at ground
level with mezzanine restaurant above.
The tower block is symmetrically composed and each level of the tower is slightly wider than the level
below. This, together with the slight rise of the balustrade at the corners, gives the building an inverted
pagoda-like character. The shape of the tower arose out of a structural idea by the architect which used a
post and bracket system, influenced by the oriental bracketing system, rather than a post and beam system
which was commonly used for multi-storied buildings. Muller saw this as a structurally sound solution which
had the advantage of shading the strips of windows underneath with the resulting overhang. As well as
reducing energy needs, this also enabled the use of timber window frames, which was highly unusual in a
multi-storey building. Concrete upstands from the overhangs formed balustrades in front of the windows
which had the additional advantage of aiding window cleaning. Timber cappings that originally cantilevered
from the concrete balustrading have been removed.
As a result the north and south facades display alternating horizontal bands of concrete balustrading and
strips of windows. In contrast massive off-form concrete buttresses dominate the east and west facades.
Formed from vertical and flanking triangular sections, these provide staggered termination points for the
horizontal bands, adding to the oriental character of the form. A two level structure (housing plant
equipment), at the top of the building is set back and flanked by the side buttresses. A simple, but dominant
metal fleche with five encircling rings at its base, rises from the centre of the roof.
Described by Philip Goad in Melbourne Architecture as ‘the largest and most elaborately detailed off-form
concrete tower in the central city’, the building displays a highly brutalist use of concrete. This is particularly
evident in the solid vertical and angled concrete buttresses at each side where the rough marks of the
boards used in construction are particularly evident. The original concrete finish has been painted.
A number of commentators have observed the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on the design of the Hoyts
Cinema Centre, and there are some similarities with Wright’s style evident in the building. In Architect, NovDec 1969, Peter Wille commented that the “Hoyts Cinema Centre in Bourke Street, by the Sydney architect
Peter Muller, while a sensitive and original work, is still very ‘Wrightian’ in character. He also notes that
‘Many Victorian architects whom we may consider to have been influenced by Wright do not concede this
point’ and that there was a distinct link with the aims of Wright and of other Chicago School architects’.
Miles Lewis in Melbourne: the city’s history and development, also notes the similarities to Wright’s work ,
and states that the only other comparable post-war city building reflecting such strong Wrightian influence
was the IOOF Building, Russell Street, which was a much smaller and less pretentious commission. He
continues by suggesting that it ‘is all the more significant when compared to other commercial architecture
erected since 1945. It is one of the very few towers that seems to draw inspiration from the Orient and also
depart from the conventional curtain wall or precast panelled facade.’ He then describes the profile of the
building as distinctive and individualistic within the city.
Goad also acknowledges Wright by stating that the building is ‘the largest Frank Lloyd Wright- influenced
design in central Melbourne’.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 13
The interiors of the building, particularly the well detailed cinemas and associated spaces, have been
removed and remodelled. Little remains of the original finishes and detailing. Simple dentilated concrete
detailing has been retained in the original entrance plaza and lobbies. That which is protected from the
weather remains unpainted. Stairwells in the tower retain their simple concrete off-form concrete walls.
OBJECTS AND INTERIORS
N/A
LANDSCAPES, TREES & GARDENS
N/A
INTEGRITY/INTACTNESS
The exterior of the building remains in a highly intact state. The original unpainted concrete finish of the
entrance structure and tower has been painted and the timber capping has been removed from the concrete
balustrading at all levels of the office tower. The original large Hoyts Cinema Centre sign, which was placed
on the concrete facade above the street canopy, has been removed and replaced with window openings and
the sign at the top of the building has also been removed. A glazed balustrade has been constructed to form
a balcony on the front canopy. Various windows have been inserted in the former auditoria at the rear of the
complex and in the west facade of the former entrance structure.
An addition has been made to the former bulk store at the rear of the building in Little Bourke Street.
All interior spaces have been altered, in particular the interior of the cinemas and associated spaces have
been greatly modified in the conversion of the lower levels of the building into a health centre. Some
elements remain, however the overall internal concept of the cinema complex has been lost. The office
interiors have been modified and some are presently undergoing further modification. Few original features
remain throughout the interior, with the exception of unpainted dentilated concrete beams in the original
entrance plaza and lobbies. (November 2013)
CONDITION
The building appears to be structurally sound and in good condition. The timber windows and concrete
balustrading all appear to be well maintained. (November 2013).
COMPARISONS
Comparison can be made with cinema complexes, city office buildings, Brutalist buildings and other work by
the architect Peter Muller.
Cinemas
As noted, the Hoyts Cinema Centre was a pioneering building type when constructed, however it was soon
followed by construction of the nearby Mid City Cinema, 194-200 Bourke Street, which was designed by
architects Bogle & Banfield for Hoyts, and opened in 1970 as a two-cinema complex. The Mid City Cinema is
a smaller building with no associated office tower and, unlike the Cinema Centre, was designed as a facade
that adjoined adjacent buildings. Described as Brutalist, the front facade incorporates a large panel of offform concrete finished with a troweled-on aggregate finish which is red oxide in colour. Windows above are
recessed behind concrete louvres which provides a contrast with the stark concrete panel below.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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Also nearby, the Greater Union Cinema, 131 Russell Street was constructed in 1976 on a site previously
occupied by The Barclay Theatre from 1958. The facade is an austere symmetrical composition dominated by
a central bulkhead of vertical elements, large side piers and a suspended central awning.
Both these buildings presently remain, however the Mid-City Cinema has been converted to an arcade and
the Greater Union Cinema has recently ceased to operate as a cinema complex.
Former Hoyts Mid City Cinema
Former Greater Union Cinemas
1950s and 1960s Office Buildings
The skyline of central Melbourne changed from the late 1950s with the continual increase in the height of
city buildings through the 1960s. With the introduction of curtain walling, buildings were initially clad in glass
then with precast concrete panels in the 1960s. The striving for lightness in the 1950s was replaced with a
strong preference for massiveness.
There are few examples of 1950s and 1960s commercial architecture in the VHR, with office architecture
represented by:
 ICI House, 1-4 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne (1955-58, VHR H0786). Designed by architects Bates
Smart McCutcheon, ICI House was one of the first freestanding fully glazed curtain wall commercial
skyscrapers in Australia when built in 1955-58 and was the tallest building for a number of years. It
broke the city’s existing height limit and instigated the change to Melbourne’s previously consistent
skyline. ICI House is an open plan concrete encased steel framed structure and the main body is clad
with framed glazed curtain walling. While curtain walling had previously been used to a small degree
on facades in Melbourne, the whole main body was clad in his manner at ICI. ICI House therefore is
of great significance for its innovative structure and for its illustration of developments of
International Style Moderism.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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ICI House (1955-58)


Victorian State Offices, Macarthur Street and Treasury Place (1962-68, part of VHR H1526)
The Victorian State Offices is an exemplar of 1960s precast concrete facade treatment of high rise
office buildings, reflecting the contemporary shift away from the taste for sheer curtain walls. An
architectural competition for the design an office tower to be placed behind the Old Treasury
Building on an axis with Collins Street, was won by Barry Patten of Yuncken Freeman, with a nonconforming entry for two separate buildings. A third building was completed by 1970. The buildings
were designed in a modern and severe style, with proportions, window openings and materials used
reflecting those of surrounding buildings in the precinct. Innovative load bearing precast panelling
was used in construction.
Former BHP House, corner William and Bourke Streets (1969-72, VHR H1699). The former BHP
House was constructed from 1969 to 1972 as the national headquarters of the Broken Hill
Proprietary (BHP) Company. The 41 storey building, designed by Yuncken Freeman, was the tallest
building in the city when constructed. It heralded a new aesthetic in high-rise buildings, with the
replacement of 1950s and 1960s banded curtain walls and externally- expressed service cores with a
new all-embracing sheer glazed curtain wall. It demonstrates the principal characteristics of early
1970s multi-storey office buildings. BHP House was designed, like similar earlier buildings of Mies
van der Rohe, to be viewed as a three dimensional sculptural monument separate from the
surrounding cityscape.
Former BHP House (1969-72)

Victorian State Offices (1962-68)
Eagle House (1970-71)
Eagle House, 473-81 Bourke Street (1970-71 VHR H1807). Designed by Yuncken Freeman, Eagle
House was built as the headquarters for the local branch of the London based Eagle Star Insurance
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
Page | 16
Company. It is a 12 storey office building with a flush green tinted glass and natural finished
aluminium curtain wall which forms a taut skin over the simple rectangular volume and is considered
the ultimate refinement of sheer curtain walling. The completed building was highly regarded by the
architectural community, winning the RAIA Award of Merit in 1972 as 'one of the most elegant and
attractive office buildings in Australia'.

Although not located in central Melbourne, the former BP Administration Building at the Crib Point
Refinery is also included in the VHR (1966 by Don Hendry Fulton, VHR H1016) with its restrained
classicism demonstrating new ways of expressing monumentality.
BP Administration Building (1966)
Other contemporary office buildings noted in Goad’s Melbourne Architecture are:
 The former BP House, at 1 Albert Road, South Melbourne (1962-64, by Demaine Russell Trundle
Armstrong & Orton), a high-rise building with a curved facade and floating linear balconies which
contrasts with the glazed curtain wall of the 1950s;
Former BP House (1962-64)
National Mutual Life Centre (1965)
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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
The former National Mutual Life Centre at 435-55 Collins Street (1965, by Godfrey Spowers Hughes
Mewton), a high-rise tower that does not have a conventional glass curtain wall, but instead has a
strong horizontal emphasis provided by the wide band of concrete spandrels. It is one of
Melbourne’s best examples of the post-war urban design concept of a high-rise slab with an open
landscaped plaza at ground level. This building is currently being reclad.

Former AMP Tower and St James Building, corner of William and Bourke Streets (1965-69, Skidmore
Owings & Merrill (San Francisco) in association with Bates Smart & McCutcheon) is another example
of the shift towards monumental tower and urban plaza design in the mid-1960s.
AMP Plaza (1965-69)
BHP Research Laboratories (1969)

The former BHP Research Laboratories at 245-72 Wellington Road, Mulgrave (1969, Eggleston
MacDonald & Secomb) is an elegant Brutalist design with a frame of two Core-Ten steel and
concrete platforms with glass between, based on Mies van der Rohe’s elevated Farnsworth House in
Illinois (1945-50) and Eero Saarinen’s rusted Core-Ten corporate buildings in Moline, Illinois (196062) with a clearly expressed structure.

Total House, 170-190 Russell Street (1964-65) has been recommended for inclusion in the VHR. It is
a brutalist style reinforced concrete building with shows a strong Japanese influence. It contains
shops on the ground floor, seven elevated parking decks above and four levels of offices elevated
above the top deck and was one of a number of multi-storey car parks constructed in the City of
Melbourne in the 1950s and 1960s. The building is probably the earliest example in Victoria of the
Brutalist style, which incorporated ideas of integrity in the expression of materials, structure and
function, and gave rise to dramatic building forms.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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Total House (1964-65)
Brutalist buildings
There are presently three Brutalist buildings included in the VHR. These are:
 The Plumbers and Gasfitters Union Building in Victoria Street, Carlton by Graeme Gunn (1967-71,
VHR H2307) which is one of the earliest, finest and most influential examples of the Brutalist style in
Victoria, notable for its use of bold forms in off-form concrete.
 The Harold Holt Swim Centre in High Street, Glen Iris by Kevin Borland and Daryl Jackson (1969, VHR
H69) which is considered to be amongst the most notable, expressive, early and intact examples of
the Brutalist movement that emerged in Victoria in the late-1960s. The bold articulation of forms in
textured off-form concrete and concrete blocks and glass provides a sculptural imagery which is
fundamental to Brutalist architecture.
Plumbers and Gasfitters Union Building (1967-71) Harold Holt Swim Centre (1969)

Clyde Cameron College at Wodonga by Kevin Borland (1977, VHR H2192) is a highly creative and
largely intact example of the Brutalist style. The unpainted off-form concrete, concrete blockwork,
heavy timber trusses, and exposed services illustrate key elements of the Brutalist ethos.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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Clyde Cameron College at Wodonga (1977)
Work by Peter Muller
Sydney architect Peter Muller is well recognised for his contribution to domestic architecture however his
commercial work is less well known. From the early 1960s he designed a number of projects for Hoyts
cinemas, including a proposal for the Newcastle City Council which redeveloped a council-owned city site as
an office tower block, shopping arcade and cinema. The proposal by Hoyts was to replace the existing Civic
Theatre facility on the site with a new complex and Peter Muller produced a design for the new facility in
1960. This redevelopment did not eventuate however the design for the Hoyts Cinema Centre, Melbourne
resembles the Newcastle Cinema Centre design in its adoption of an inverted pagoda-like office tower and
its centrally placed fleche. Similar fleches were used in a number of Muller’s commercial designs including
the IPEC Head Office, Adelaide (1964) and the Dickson Hotel, Canberra (1966).
Design proposal for Hoyts, Newcastle
Muller also designed a number of drive-in facilities for Hoyts, including snack bars at Bulleen (1966, closed
1984 and since demolished) and Wantirna (1968, closed 1984) in suburban Melbourne. The example at
Bulleen displays an oriental character in its use of a curved hipped roof.
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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Snack Bar, Bulleen Drive-In, 1966 (since demolished)
Snack Bar, Wantirna Drive-In, 1968
Muller undertook little work in Victoria. In addition to the two drive-ins for Hoyts, he designed two houses;
the Ward House, Foote Street, Templestowe (1958) and the Fogarty House, Dunalister Stud, Elmore (1959).
Ward House, Templestowe, 1958
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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KEY REFERENCES USED TO PREPARE ASSESSMENT
Architecture and Arts, December 1955, ‘A portfolio of the work of Peter Muller’ & May 1966, p 22, ‘Cinema
Centre, Melbourne’
The Sun, 15 April 1966, p7, ‘Three Cinemas in One City Centre’ & 4 June 1969, ‘The Architect’
P Wille “Frank Lloyd Wright in Victoria: one hundred years after his birth he still practices vicariously in
Melbourne’, Architect, November-December 1969, p 25
Film Weekly, various dates including 21 April 1966, 13 February 1969, 17 & 21 April 1969, 5 & 12 June 1969
Constructional Review, November 1969, pp 30-35
Cinema Record, R King ‘Hoyts 1909-2009’ (special edition)
R Thorne. Cinemas of Australia via USA. Sydney 1981
M Emmanuel. Contemporary Architecture. UK 1994
M Lewis. Melbourne. The city’s history and development. Melbourne 1995
Excerpts from J Urford. Peter Muller :The Complete Works. Sydney 2013
P Goad & J Willis (ed).The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture. Melbourne 2012
www.petermuller.org
Name: Former Hoyts Cinema Centre
VHR Number: PROV H2335
Hermes Number: 196067
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