Cole’s Book Arcade – Bourke Street, CBD
Edward William Cole was one of many entrepreneurs making a living doing all sorts of things in Melbourne in the late 1800s. He tried his hand at many things but found his forte selling books and quickly became Melbourne’s biggest bookseller. He started off with a stall at the Eastern Market on Bourke Street and early success gave him the opportunity to move into the huge premises on Bourke Street, which would have been in the middle of the mall. At what has been called “the grandest bookshop in the world”, Cole didn’t only sell “books”. His shop also had a menagerie, with birds and monkeys in cages, a funhouse full of mirrors, a band that played on weekends and also a tearoom. He championed the adage, “Read all you want – no one will be asked to buy.” And as Melbourne writer Robyn Annear says in the film, “He was the perfect bookseller – from youth to old age.”

Padua Cinema – Sydney Road, Brunswick
This really was a strikingly beautiful and much-loved cinema to the people of Brunswick. I would have loved to have seen a film here, especially as a Brunswick local. Built in 1937 in the art moderne style with a beautiful caramel-coloured brickwork facade, it featured a unique triangle stage presentation. After screening the cinema preshow, the stage would rotate to feature an orchestra and then rotate again for the main feature presentation. The Padua once stood proudly right on the top of Sydney Road, not far from A1 Bakery, and it had a futuristic ticket booth that looked like a floating UFO! After its audience was decimated from the introduction of TV in 1956, it survived by screening Italian movies. But it only made it to the mid-1980s, and after laying vacant and being vandalised for a number of years, it was sadly demolished in 1982. As David Kilderry, owner of Dandenong’s Lunar Drive-In, says in the film: “There was nothing in the papers, nothing on radio, this was just de rigueur, just another old cinema finished its life … gone. And in some ways, it summarised the sad state of cinema heritage that we’ve lost here in Melbourne.”

Parer’s Crystal Cafe – Bourke Street, CBD
Built in 1886, this stunning cafe in some ways epitomises the boomtime of “Marvellous Melbourne”. It was built by a family of Spanish immigrants, the Parer brothers, who turned their trade to hospitality when they found that gold didn’t pay. It had four levels that included a dining room especially for women, a billiard room, a restaurant and a bar on the ground level. It survived until the 1960s when contractor Whelan the Wrecker eventually demolished it – and now it’s the Midcity cinema site. Imagine if we had kept it long enough for one of Melbourne’s many clever restaurateurs to bring it back to life.

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Palace Theatre – Bourke Street, CBD
I have a special fondness for the Palace Theatre as I frequented it when it was Metro Nightclub and again when it was a live music venue known as The Palace. It started its life in the early 20th century as a live theatre, featuring vaudeville acts, and as Melburnians’ tastes changed, it also changed. What was sad about this legendary building’s story was that it was only the exterior that could be protected, which was the least significant part. What was significant was its interior, and while protection was being sought, the owners were going through and knocking all the important bits off, so when they thought about listing it for heritage protection, there was nothing left to list. Now all we have left is the facade.

Regent Theatre – Collins Street, CBD
The Regent Theatre is one of our most glorious picture palaces and we’re so fortunate to still have it with us. Although, we almost weren’t so lucky. When Melbourne City Council decide to give us a City Square, their idea was to demolish an entire block on the corner of Collins and Swanston streets, including the beautiful Victoria Building that housed the famous Queens Walk. Once the building and all its shops were demolished, council wanted to continue demolishing up Collins Street and knock down the Regent Theatre – but they didn’t realise the love Melburnians had for it. Many people had fond memories of going there and had a real love and affection for it, and it also housed a cinema downstairs called The Plaza. The unions got involved and put green bans on the building and opposition eventually became so great that it was saved from demolition in the late ’70s. The Regent Theatre became a line in the sand for the heritage movement in Victoria and really changed what came after.

The Lost City of Melbourne world-premiered at MIFF and is screening at cinemas across town; check showtimes online. The film’s director Gus Berger is behind Melbourne production company Gusto Films, as well as Thornbury Picture House and Blow Up Cinema.

thelostcityofmelbourne.org