Old Buildings: Victims of Progress

In today's paper, I found an article on page 56. It talked about the absolutely gorgeous Regent's Theatre on the Queen Street Mall being torn down in the name of progress. How disgusting! How demoralising! How many beautiful buildings are going to disappear before we completely wipe out Brisbane's - and Queensland's - true history?

First it was 'The Shingle Inn' where generations of people used to buy cakes and have high tea in the old-fashioned booths. The walls were covered in early-last Century style wall coverings and the place had a massively high ceiling. Now, it's all in storage and the Brisbane City Council 'promises' to put it all back up when the time's right. They promised it would be done this year in May - or was it last year?

What bollox! What bull! What crap!





All the great theatres are gone - all except the Regent Theatre. And this 'great city' has done all this in the name of growth and progress. You know, if this was the UK... none of those theatres would be gone. None of them. They'd be preserved. Over in the UK and Europe, they preserve their past and let it get better with age as people walk around it awed at its beauty over time; at how the York Minster didn't have a roof for 250 years and that cathedral is 500 years old! And it's still there! A good part of London has seen many-a disaster from plague to flood and fires; but many of the buildings are over two hundred years old. They still have street signs on the buildings themselves; and not on the street corners. Yes, the Brits have the right idea about preserving old and aging buildings. Maybe - just maybe - we should be taking a page or two out of their book and started looking after our old buildings; not only Old Parliment House and the Windmill on Wickham Terrace. There are grander places than that; more beautiful places that we are missing; or are too blind to see.

But it's all politics isn't it. And it's all money... and greed.

Don't tell me it isn't because I know it's a lie. We all do. So. Are we all just going to let another landmark disappear into the winds of the ages all because the politicians say it's time for it to go? Or are we going to stand up and say: "NO!"
I'm sick to death of seeing my Grandmother's and Grandfather's places vanish on me. And another question is posed to me now. Where is BIFF* being held next year now that grand old theatre is going to be pulled down in the way of some shiny new 40-storey office blocks? Aren't there enough of them around already?! Pick another site! Because this theatre has a lot of life still left in her. She's old and grand; but she's still a popular place for a movie. She still pulls people in and gets the young kids looking in awe at the architecture that is no longer around.
And in case you're wondering what the building the Brisbane City Council wants to build there looks like; here's the picture they're hoping it'll cast for us Brisbanites. Not very attractive or grand - well, it's crap compared to the Regent Theatre if you ask me.

*Brisbane International Film Festival