Metro Arts Theatre, Heritage-listed former warehouse and theatre complex on Edward Street, Brisbane City, Australia
Metro Arts Theatre is a five-storey brick building with a basement at 109–117 Edward Street, Brisbane City. Its street facade is split into five bays by plain broad pilasters, with tall paired windows in the central and outer bays and three wider windows in the intermediate bays. Inside, timber floors and columns remain visible, and a rear hoist with motor sits under a curved corrugated iron roof.
Captain George Poynter Heath bought the site in 1871 and erected the warehouse in 1890, leasing it to George Myers & Co, importers of porcelain, glass and earthenware. A fire damaged the upper levels in March 1902; Myers & Co bought the building in 1912 and stayed until liquidation in 1930. Renamed Coronation House in 1938 for George VI's coronation, it was acquired by the Australian Government in 1949, and conversion into a community arts centre began in 1976, opening in July 1981.
The building's names track its uses: Coronation House from 1938, Community Arts Centre from 1981, Metro Arts Centre from 1988. Its Edward Street Theatre staged Bob Merritt's The Cake Man and Harold Pinter's Betrayal between 1980 and 1989. The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts held its first classes here in January 1998.
Metro Arts left 109 Edward Street in late 2020 for a purpose-built facility at 111 Boundary Street in West End, within West Village, which opened in September 2020. Visitors heading to the heritage building should note it is no longer the organisation's theatre; check which address hosts the event before travelling. The 1890 warehouse stands in Brisbane City, not West End.
The rear of the building keeps an internal hoist with its motor under a curved corrugated iron roof, with hinged landings at each floor level. Visible settlement of the upper timber floors shows how the 1890 warehouse structure has shifted over time.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,409 contributors worldwide.