Today’s the day to help save Melbourne venue The Curtin
There’s a new form for people to share their support for Melbourne’s The John Curtin Hotel as the Victorian union movement makes the case to save the beloved music venue.
Last month, The Curtin announced it would be shutting its doors later this year. “The rumours are true. It’s with an agonisingly sad heart, that The John Curtin hotel’s time on this earth will come to an end,” it revealed on the venue’s official Instagram account.
The post revealed that the reason for the closure was that the owners of the historic Carlton building had decided to sell “making way most likely for apartments.”
The current lease ends in November but The Curtin isn’t giving up just yet. The Victorian Unions are asking people to add their voice to help save the venue, “not only for its incredible historical value” but also for “its place as an important live music venue and its contribution to the lives of the many people who socialise within its walls.”
For the rest of today, March 14th, anyone can contribute their stories of The Curtin via weareunion.typeform.com/savethecurtin. If the gathered stories are enough to prove that the place is historically and socially important, The Curtin could potentially become protected under Victorian heritage laws.
The Curtin’s upstairs bandroom has long been a favourite live music spot on Carlton’s Lygon Street. It was a prominent venue in Melbourne Music Week and on every second Wednesday it hosted Bin Night, a celebration of local music.
From now until November, then, you can check out the great lineup of weekly gigs on offer at the venue and support a venerable Melbourne institution while it’s still possible. “Whatever happens we intend to go out with a BANG! So please continue to come and see the awesome bands, pop in for some dinner or a drink and stick around for the regular DJs,” as The Curtin said.
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This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.