The first theatre on the site at 217–223 Bourke Street, Melbourne was the Victorian Academy of Music, built for Samuel Aarons, which opened with a performance by Ilma de Murska on 6 November 1876. Seating about 1600, it was designed by Reed & Barnes, and located on a deep site, with the theatre at the rear, located above a wide passageway running through the site, called the Victoria Arcade. The arcade featured billiard and refreshment rooms, and access to the theatre was from a grand stair off Bourke Street, as well as stairs running off the arcade.