the foyer areas (including demolishing a concrete floor that subdivided the dress circle lobby in two), as well as giving the building an overall safety upgrade, and disabled access. The budget for this work was $2,200,000 and included audio visual installations and theatre lighting systems, some restitution of the coloured lighting of the ceiling and new lift and disabled access. In 2005, RMIT announced that the theatre a A$190,000 grant towards further repairs to the crystalline ceiling. Free public tours were held from 2000 to 2010, ending due to dwindling participants. In 2014, the work needed to restore The Capitol Theatre became so substantial that the building closed to the public. In 2017, an appeal was launched by RMIT to reactivate the landmark. At the same time, the owners of the arcade decided to employ Six Degrees to refurbish the arcade in a complementary fashion, completed in May 2019. This was to be the first full restoration of the iconic venue, with new services, upgraded access including a disabled lift, new seating, and state of the art projection equipment for all media. All the decorative plaster in the auditorium and foyers was cleaned, repaired and repainted, carpets recreated based on original samples, and the decision was made to replace the hard to maintain coloured globe lighting of the main auditorium with LED lighting, able to be programmed in an infinite variety of configurations and sequences. The restored theatre opened on 3 June 2019 to great fanfare. After 54 years the original Wurlitzer organ, named "Eliza" was returned to The Capitol from Dendy Cinemas Brighton in 2021. RMIT University and the organ’s owner, the Theatre Organ Society of Australia, are raising $500,000 to fund its reinstallation. Gallery References External links The Capitol, RMIT University official website RMIT Capitol website (archived version from 2008) Heritage listing RMIT Capitol Theatre Appeal Phillips brothers biography https://daysgoneby2.blogspot.com/2017/12/qicong-lin-flickr-phillips-brothers.html Lisa French, ‘Melbourne’s Capitol Theatre: “The Best Cinema That Has Ever Been Built or Is Ever Likely to Be Built”’, Senses of Cinema, Issue 85, December 2017: http://sensesofcinema.com/2017/screening-melbourne/melbournes-capitol-theatre/ Theatres in Melbourne Walter Burley Griffin buildings RMIT University buildings Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre Theatres completed in 1924 1924 establishments in Australia Art Deco architecture in Melbourne Chicago school architecture in Australia Landmarks in Melbourne Cinemas in Melbourne Marion Mahony Griffin