St Kilda Town Hall, Neoclassical municipal building in St Kilda, Australia.
St Kilda Town Hall is a neoclassical building located where Brighton Road meets Carlisle Street, featuring grand columns and a symmetrical front facade. Inside, a grand staircase and spacious halls create flexible spaces for multiple uses.
The first stage opened in 1890, built to a towered Second Empire design by William Pitt that won a limited competition in 1888, but only the hall and front and Carlisle Street wings were finished, with bare brick walls and no portico or tower. The 1890s depression halted work; the classical portico and stair-hall followed in 1925, walls were stuccoed white in 1957, and a 1939 Art Deco council chamber was added. A fire gutted the hall on 7 April 1991, and ARM Architecture's restoration, completed in 1994, won two RAIA awards in 1995.
The main hall has hosted municipal balls, receptions and performances for over 120 years. In 1958 a thousand women in hats, gloves, pearls and floral frocks took morning tea there with the Queen Mother, and in 1972 it held the last of Gough Whitlam's "It's Time" rallies. It was a major ballroom dancing venue for much of the 20th century, and in 2015 hosted the St Kilda Short Film Festival.
The building is easily reached by tram service, with direct connections to central Melbourne, and buses also serve the area from different directions. Its location at a major intersection makes walking there straightforward.
The 1956 Summer Olympics fencing events were held in the hall, not in a purpose-built arena. The same room hosted the last "It's Time" rally for Gough Whitlam in 1972 and the St Kilda Short Film Festival in 2015.
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