Princess Theatre (Astleys Ampitheatre, Corner of Spring Street and Little Bourke Street, C.1866
Astley’s Amphitheatre opened for business on the 11th September 1854. Although built by hotelier Thomas Mooney and circus entrepreneur George Lewis as an equestrian/circus venue, it also hosted variety entertainments like minstrelsy and burlesque, along with drama, concerts, public meetings and lectures over the next two and a half years. Key acts associated with the venue were Billy Barlow, Rainer’s Serenaders (both 1854), and the Backus Minstrels and Lola Montez (1856). After Lewis departed for Sydney in July 1855 it was briefly leased by James Ellis, Henry Burton, and builder Adam Kennedy, before being taken over and remodelled by George Coppin in early 1856. In April the following year it was renamed the Princess Theatre. Although mostly used for meetings from mid-1855, Astley’s also operated as a ballroom over the summer of 1855 - 1856.
The ownership changed many times over the next three decades, as did the lessees. The building also underwent several renovations, the most significant being in 1865. This involved a complete restoration of the inside while the outside shell remained pretty much as before.
After eventually falling into disrepair, the building was closed on the 3rd January 1885. It was subsequently demolished to make way for the current Princess Theatre.
Thomas Mooney was the proprietor of the nearby National Hotel. Both Lewis and Mooney were sued separately in 1855 in relation to Astley’s. Lewis later claimed that the damages were a major factor in his request for insolvency. Mooney’s breach of contract, which he also lost, was in relation to an architectural design for a theatre to be built next to the National Hotel. Mooney decided to build Astley’s instead and failed to pay for the first design.
The only National Hotel I could find in the CBD area was the one located on the north east corner of Bourke Street and Market Lane. Early photos also referred to it as the National Family Hotel (c.1870s). Unable to confirm if this was the same hotel owned by Thomas Mooney.