The view from the ‘Mooseheads carpark’. Photo: James Coleman.
If Civic’s walls could talk, they’d probably blush. As for the Mooseheads carpark? The secrets it could share would be … um, next level.
Fittingly, on Saturday, 11 October, Mooseheads Pub & Nightclub will give the patch of asphalt across the road a final send-off, as construction moves in to make way for Canberra’s new Lyric Theatre.
For decades, the carpark has been more than just a place to stash your Corolla before a big night out. It’s been an extension of the Moose itself – a stage for hookups and heartbreaks, and countless sunrise promises of “never drinking again”.
“It’s not just any carpark – it’s the Mooseheads Carpark, and if tarmac could talk, there would be many stories to tell,” says Mooseheads marketing and events manager Ryan Dyson.
“We’ve all got a memory there – good, bad, or blurry – and we want to give people one final chance to say goodbye.”
The farewell party will feature Moose DJs “spinning” from the club’s colonnade with music projected toward the site itself. A dedicated “selfie station” will also line the temporary fencing so punters can immortalise their night against the backdrop of Civic’s most famous asphalt.
“Almost all of the carpark has closed already for light rail construction,” Dyson says. “But once Lyric Theatre starts, it will be gone forever.”
Despite the roadworks squeezing the area, Dyson says Canberrans have continued to find ways to head into the city and party.
The Theatre Lane car park will close from 14 October. Photo: James Coleman.
It’s not the first time Mooseheads has tried to bring some fun to the building works.
Earlier this year, it launched the ‘Love Lock Wall’, encouraging lovers to clip padlocks with scribbled dedications onto the construction fencing out front.
“All padlocks have been given out, and it has definitely brought some fun to the area,” Dyson tells Region.
“But we are still encouraging the public to snap on a lock and share the love.”
The closure of the Mooseheads Carpark is part of the ACT Government’s wider Canberra Theatre Centre Transformation project. Stage one is the Lyric Theatre, which will rise on the northern side of The Playhouse in Theatre Lane.
Once complete, it will seat up to 2000 people across three levels and be capable of hosting large-scale productions such as musicals, ballet and opera.
However, while anticipation for a world-class venue is building, the loss of parking has raised eyebrows.
Plans lodged with the National Capital Authority confirm the new theatre will not have its own basement carpark – a costly option the government says couldn’t be justified given “the availability of thousands of carparks in the city precinct”.
Canberra Theatre Centre redevelopment map. Photo: ACT Government.
Instead, theatre-goers will be asked to use existing carparks at the Canberra Centre, City Hill, Constitution Place and Nangari Street – more than 5000 spaces in total, according to the Works Approval traffic report.
Nearby local Civic businesses fear that losing the entire Theatre Lane surface carpark would make life tougher than it already is.
In the long term, officials say that underground parking could be reinstated as part of a future redevelopment of the site, once it’s released for sale in four to eight years.
Artist’s impression of the new Lyric Theatre. Photo: ACT Government.
For now, however, Mooseheads is making the best of it with more of a party than a wake.
“Everyone has said it at least once: ‘Yeah, I’ll meet you in the Mooseheads Carpark’,” Dyson says.
“This is our last chance to do exactly that.”
Visit the event listing on the Moosehead Canberra Facebook page for more information.
