Old Museum Building, Brisbane, Federation architecture performing arts center in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia.
The Old Museum Building is a former exhibition hall and museum in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, designed by George Henry Male Addison in a progressive eclectic or Indo-Saracenic style. Built in 1891 from 1.3 million red bricks, it stands beside Gregory Terrace and the Exhibition Grounds. It is one of only two surviving 19th-century exhibition buildings in Australia, the other being the Royal Exhibition Building.
The Exhibition Building and Concert Hall was built in 1891 for the Queensland National Agricultural and Industrial Association, replacing an earlier exhibition hall destroyed by fire on 13 June 1888. Architect George Henry Male Addison designed it in an eclectic Indo-Saracenic style, and over 300 workers completed it in twelve months. The government took over the site in 1897 when the association was liquidated, and from 1899 to 1986 the building housed the Queensland Museum.
The building functions as a performance hub where orchestras and theater groups regularly present concerts and shows to local audiences. It serves as a gathering place for artists and music lovers in Brisbane.
The building stands between Gregory Terrace and the Exhibition Grounds in Bowen Hills, north of Brisbane's centre. It is a working venue for the Queensland Youth Orchestras and other resident groups, so access follows rehearsal and performance times rather than fixed museum hours. Check the resident organisations' programmes before travelling.
During the laying of the foundation stone in 1891, workers buried a bottle containing Brisbane's leading newspapers beneath the foundation. This time capsule represents one of the building's most notable construction details.
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