NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: 1960's tower proposal for Regent Theatre Site (1969)

The former site of the Regent Theatre in George Street is currently home to the Norman Foster designed Lumiere Residences and Fraser Suites. 

In the 1980's and 1990's there were several proposals to redevelop the site, which I plan to share in a future series on the site itself. Some readers may remember the attempts to save the theatre and proposals as the site lay idle throughout the 1990's and early 2000's.

Two decades prior to the demolition of the Regent, there was an attempt to demolish and replace the theatre and build a tower rising 40 levels above street level. The proposed height would be equivalent to the Lumiere Residences which rises around 150 metres from street level.

Below is an article from The Daily Telegraph from 1969 reporting on the proposed tower and that it was to be recommended for approval by Sydney City Council.

Source: Anon. 1969. "For Regent Site...Two Theatres Planned in 44-Storey Block". The Daily Telegraph, October 28: 7.

While this scheme would have seen the demolition the 1928 building, the scheme was advantageous in maintaining the presence of a theatre on the site but also acting as a live entertainment venue,

It is hard to predict what may have happened had the scheme gone ahead. Given the Regent Theatre was primarily used for films, a two screen cinema complex would have been unviable given the closure of city cinemas and the rise of multiplex cinemas in the decades ahead. It may have also provided Sydney with much needed entertainment space, especially as the decades wore on including live productions. Consider the lack of performance space in Sydney in 2021 which has made it difficult to attract live theatre (This will gain traction as the city returns to pre-COVID-19 normality). The theatre space itself would have had to be modified.

As for the office tower itself - It appears slender in the artists impression, similar to the adjoining Sydney County Council Building and the former Waterboard building. This office tower may be residential, unless it was given heritage listing.