AustLit

Situated at the north east corner of George and Campbell streets in the Sydney's Haymarket district the Alhambra Music Hall site had previously been used as a corn exchange and later the Peacock Inn before being turned into the Haymarket Academy in June 1884. The following year hotelier and sports promoter Frank Smith bought the building and converted it into a 900 seat variety theatre (it seated 1000 after being remodeled in 1887). After being opened on 25 May 1885, the theatre provided great opportunities for local performers, with most of the country's leading performers of the 1880s appearing there at some stage. Losses incurred during the economic depression forced Smith to pull out of the venture in 1892, after which it was briefly operated by his former manager Harry Barrington.

During the remainder of the 1890s, the Alhambra was leased out to a number of entrepreneurs, including Harry Rickards (1893) and Wilson and St John (1898/99). In the early 1900s the theatre was taken over by the Pugliese family who initially presented a waxworks exhibit and Sunday concerts there. The Puglieses' association with the Alhambra continued for 15 years, during which time they oversaw the production of various theatrical enterprises, including vaudeville, revues, drama, pantomimes and films. Among the managers/producers to be engaged by the family during the 1910s were Harry Barrington (1913) and Herbert Linden (ca. 1919). The Alhambra was sold in 1921 and briefly operated as a cinema (The Melba) before becoming a storehouse for Mick Simmons.

[Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive]