The Capitol, Melbourne
The Capitol is an historic theatre on Swanston Street in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1924 as part of the Capitol House building, the art deco theatre was designed by American husband and wife architects Walter Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin, and is the oldest of Melbourne's large picture palaces. It is famous for its extravagant decor and abstract motifs, including an intricate geometric ceiling containing thousands of coloured lamps, designed to evoke the walls of a crystalline cave. Proposals in the early 1960s to demolish the theatre sparked one of Australia's first major heritage conservation campaigns. While the cinema was saved, its seating capacity was reduced and parts of the original ground level foyer were replaced by a shopping arcade.