View source for Max Watt's House of Music (Melbourne)

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
'''Max Watt's House of Music''' is a live music venue on [[Swanston Street]] in [[Melbourne]], Australia. The 850-capacity venue is in the basement of the Century Building designed by architect [[Marcus Barlow]].
== Venue history ==
The venue originally opened in 1940 as the '''Century Theatre''' cinema.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206768705|title=NEW CENTURY THEATRE.|date=31 May 1940|newspaper=[[The Age]]|accessdate=15 October 2017|issue=26,559|location=Victoria, Australia|page=14|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Over the subsequent decades it underwent various changes in name and focus, from newsreels to European films, before closing as a cinema in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/52967|title=Capitol 2 Theatre in Melbourne, AU - Cinema Treasures|website=cinematreasures.org|access-date=2017-10-15}}</ref>
The '''Hi-fi Bar & Ballroom''' opened in the former cinema in 1998, and become a major live music venue in Melbourne.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/a-decade-in-the-underground-hi-fi-bar-and-ballroom-turns-10/784631|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015095325/http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/a-decade-in-the-underground-hi-fi-bar-and-ballroom-turns-10/784631|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 October 2017|title=A decade in the underground: Hi-fi Bar and Ballroom turns 10|date=2007-06-01|work=FasterLouder|access-date=2017-10-15|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2015, after being placed in administration,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/the-hifi-bar-melbourne-music-institution-goes-bust/news-story/9d50ca15a537cb0bec422e5f0275bc46|title=Melbourne music institution goes bust|last=Argoon|first=Ashley|date=13 February 2015|work=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=15 October 2015|language=en}}</ref> the venue became Max Watt's House of Music under new ownership.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/the-hi-fi-venues-have-a-new-australian-based-owner/#/slide/1|title=The Hi-Fi Venues Have A New Australian-Based Owner - Music Feeds|date=2015-03-17|work=Music Feeds|access-date=2017-10-15|language=en-US}}</ref>
The venue also hosts comedy as the Festival Club during the [[Melbourne International Comedy Festival]], where the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC's]] ''Comedy Up Late'' is filmed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://themusic.com.au/news/all/2013/03/07/abc-to-broadcast-performances-from-melbourne-comedy-festival-club/|title=ABC To Broadcast Melbourne Comedy Festival Club Performances|website=theMusic|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-10-15}}</ref>
== References ==
<references />
{{coord missing|Victoria (state)}}
[[Category:Music venues in Melbourne]]