Max Watt's House of Music (Melbourne) explained

Max Watt's House of Music is a live music venue on Swanston Street in Melbourne, Australia. The 850-capacity venue is in the basement of the Century Building designed by architect Marcus Barlow.

Venue history

The venue originally opened in 1940 as the Century Theatre cinema.^[1] Over the subsequent decades it underwent various changes in name and focus, from newsreels to European films, before closing as a cinema in 1985.^[2]

The Hi-fi Bar & Ballroom opened in the former cinema in 1998, and become a major live music venue in Melbourne.^[3] In 2015, after being placed in administration,^[4] the venue became Max Watt's House of Music under new ownership.^[5]

The venue also hosts comedy as the Festival Club during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where the ABC's Comedy Up Late is filmed.^[6]

References

1. News: NEW CENTURY THEATRE.. 31 May 1940. The Age. 15 October 2017. 26,559. Victoria, Australia. 14. National Library of Australia.
2. Web site: Capitol 2 Theatre in Melbourne, AU - Cinema Treasures. cinematreasures.org. 2017-10-15.
3. News: A decade in the underground: Hi-fi Bar and Ballroom turns 10. https://web.archive.org/web/20171015095325/http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/a-decade-in-the-underground-hi-fi-bar-and-ballroom-turns-10/784631. dead. 15 October 2017. 2007-06-01. FasterLouder. 2017-10-15. en-US.
4. News: Melbourne music institution goes bust. Argoon. Ashley. 13 February 2015. Herald Sun. 15 October 2015. en.
5. News: The Hi-Fi Venues Have A New Australian-Based Owner - Music Feeds. 2015-03-17. Music Feeds. 2017-10-15. en-US.
6. Web site: ABC To Broadcast Melbourne Comedy Festival Club Performances. theMusic. en-GB. 2017-10-15.