His Majesty's Theatre, Perth

At the turn of the 20th century, Perth was experiencing a period of high growth as a result of the Western Australian gold rush. The prosperity which resulted from this boom led to the construction of increasingly opulent baroque buildings. Local politician Thomas Molloy had commissioned the Metropole Hotel in 1896 and adjoining 1200-seat Theatre Royal in 1897, which included the first fully equipped theatre in the growing town. Soon after the completion of that complex, Molloy asked the same architect, William G. Wolf, to design an integrated theatre and hotel complex to be named ''His Majesty's Theatre and Hotel'' in honour of the recently crowned King Edward VII. The site selected for this new theatre was the corner of King Street and Hay Street, which in 1896 had been home to "Ye Olde Englishe Faire". In June 1902, Molloy applied to the Perth Licensing Court for planning permission to construct the theatre, and when he finally received permission, he promised completion within a year. A call for tenders to construct the complex was put out, and the winning tender was by Friederich Liebe who had previously constructed the Bulgarian Houses of Parliament in Sofia and worked on the Budapest Opera House. The tender price was £A46,000, equivalent to in , of which £A43,000 was the cost of the building alone. The construction contract between Molloy and Liebe was signed in November 1902, and Heinrich Schmidt was appointed as foreman for Liebe. Deep excavation of the site for the building's foundations and basement started almost immediately. During construction, questions were publicly raised about the stability of the building's foundations in light of the water table on the site and the presence of a subterranean stream. Liebe conferred with the architect and engineers before developing a revised design which featured drains to divert running water. Liebe presented the modified plans to Molloy and proceeded with them, assuming that he had the consent of Molloy. Construction progressed, and the building was completed on schedule. When the time finally came for Molloy to pay Liebe for the construction, a dispute arose as to who should be liable for the extra £A17,000 (equivalent to in ) incurred in remedying the structural defect. Molloy was reputed to be one of the most litigious businessmen in Perth, and refused to pay higher than the original agreed price, on the basis that the contract required his written approval for extra work to be carried out. Liebe pursued him through the courts all the way to the High Court and Privy Council. The Privy Council eventually ruled in favour of Liebe, however the legal costs he had incurred were exorbitant. After resolving some last-minute objections by the Central Board of Health to the building's fire safety, the theatre was officially opened at 8pm on Christmas Eve in 1904 by Sylvia Forrest in the presence of her uncle, former premier John Forrest. Opening night saw "Pollard's Adult Opera Company" performing The Forty Thieves, however the choice of opening date was an unfortunate one and the opening night was not a sell-out. Architecture At the time of its opening, His Majesty's Theatre was the largest theatre in Australia, and also featured the country's largest stage and highest fly tower. The complex was constructed with reinforced concrete, and was the first reinforced concrete building in Perth and, possibly, in Australia. The structure is 4-storeys tall, and its features were influenced by 19th-century English and European theatres. It has been described as "a fine example" of Federation Free Classical or Edwardian Baroque architecture. The building as designed by Wolfe was grander than Molloy's Theatre Royal complex, and featured a 65-room hotel separated from the theatre by internal iron doors. The hotel had billiard rooms, parlours and six bars to serve the patrons of the theatre. The building used of iron and steel, 3.75 million locally made bricks, imported marble, Minton tiles and Castlemaine slate. An electric lift led to the roof, where an observation platform had panoramic views over the town. The auditorium contained a proscenium arch, with a raked stage in size. The auditorium measured , and its original capacity was 2584 people in three tiers. The interior of the theatre was a typical Edwardian horseshoe-shape to bring the audience closer to the performers. It featured stalls (seating 974), a dress circle (seating 540), an upper gallery (seating 1,074) and private boxes. The theatre incorporated several cooling features. Four small waterfalls were located on either side of the proscenium arch, intended to cool the audience in tandem with electric fans and a retractable dome in the ceiling. The dome was split down the middle, with each half sliding to either side to open. The dome was decorated in imitation of an umbrella, with panels of gold and silver with scrollwork embellishment. The artificial waterfalls were removed early in the life of the theatre. The exterior of the theatre was originally lined with two-level verandah balconies, which provided relief to the imposing walls. These were removed in 1947-48, because authorities considered that the proximity of the supporting pillars to the road constituted a traffic hazard. As a result, there is a disparity between the ornamentation at the top of the building's facade and the lower three storeys, which were previously obscured by the balconies. ==Subsequent history and renovation==