Built by the American entrepreneur and film director James Dixon Williams, its seating provided for 865 in the stalls, 400 in the dress circle and 650 in the gallery.

[3] Later, Greater Union took over operations of the cinema, equipping it for sound films, with the acoustics being improved by the addition of panels of softwood lattice to the side-walls.

[1] In 1946 the Tommy Burns-Vic Patrick fight was screened as a newsreel of the event and became very popular, drawing huge crowds in George Street for the six daily sessions.

[citation needed] On 23 June 1960, the Lyric theatre reopened as the Forum Cinema, with a reduced seating capacity, opening with the film "Porgy and Bess".

[4] The Forum Theatre was later demolished and a mixed-use office, retail and residential building named Capitol Terrace now occupies the site.