Tara House

Tara House is one of Brisbane CBD’s best kept heritage secrets – an ornate Richard Gailey-designed warehouse built in 1879 for a bootmaker, which houses a grand ballroom on its upper floor.

And now it has been given a new lease of life as The Elizabeth Picture Theatre, bringing back the days of when going to the movies in the city was a glamorous affair.

The facade features simple classical detailing while the jewel in the crown is the ballroom, built in the late 1920s by the Irish Club, who occupied the building from 1919 to 2015.

With a stunning panelled arched ceiling adorned with angels, harps and gold-leaf Australian floral motifs, silky oak panelled walls, hardwood floors and leadlight panels in the rear wall and ceiling depicting the Australian coat of arms and the four counties of Ireland, the ballroom has been the setting for almost a hundred years of glamorous balls and events.

The vintage-style movie theatre gives movie-goers a taste of a nostalgic bygone era when going to see a film in the city was a glamorous affair, with a real sense of occasion.

The five-theatre complex features a main 150 seat theatre in the ballroom, keeping its beautiful features, along with four other cinemas ranging in size from 22 seats to 57. The cinemas screen a mix of art house and main stream movies.

Behind the venture are the Sourris brothers, who are well qualified in the retro cinema scene, as owners of the revamped New Farm Cinemas and Yatala Drive-In.