Gold Coast development: Then and now - famous Gold Coast buildings revealed

The Gold Coast has gained a reputation for knocking down its old buildings and replacing them with something new. But if you’ve ever wondered what some of our buildings used to be, here’s your answer. SEE RARE PHOTOS

THE Gold Coast has gained a reputation for knocking down its old buildings and replacing them with something new.

Over the decades we have said goodbye to plenty of buildings which were icons of yesteryear.

But in some cases the buildings remained but took on a new life.

Here are five modern Gold Coast sites and what they used to be.

THEN - McDonnell and East

NOW - Southport TAFE

The McDonnell and East building in the 1990s when it was called Venture.

The Southport TAFE building which today sits on the corner of Nerang and Scarborough streets was built 1986 and was meant to be the next big shopping centre.

It was the home of McDonnell and East, the famous department shop chain which made a big push into the Gold Coast in the 1970s and 80s – including at The Galleria in Surfers Paradise and Pacific Fair.

The view from the roof of the McDonnell and East building in the 1980s.

The chain collapsed in 1990 and the building became home to various retail outlets through the 1990, including the famous Mary Ryan book shop and even a trading card shop.

TAFE took over the building and it became an education facility.

The building in recent years. Picture Mike Batterham

THEN - McDonald’s

NOW - Mermaid Tavern.

Queensland's first McDonalds opened at Mermaid Beach in 1975

Queensland’s first McDonald’s was built on the Gold Coast in the building which now is home to Mermaid Tavern.

The two-level restaurant opened on August 24, 1975 and drew crowds from across the state as well as northern NSW.

It soon became a popular haunt for teenagers through the 1980s and ’90s.

A famous face who manned the grill in the late 1980s was celebrity chef Pete Evans.

The city’s original McDonald’s continued to operate during the early ’90s but eventually closed in 1998.

Its former site became the Mermaid Tavern, which opened in 2001.

The tavern’s interior today.

THEN - Mermaid Beach Cinema

NOW - Mermaid Beach medical centre.

The Mermaid Beach Cinema complex in the late 90s.

The current building opened in the early 1980s and replaced the old cinema.

The newest theatre cost $1.9 million, featured just two theatres and was initially known simply as the Mermaid Twin Cinema.

The strong crowds led its owners to launch a $1 million expansion in late 1983 when a third theatre was added, seating an extra 336 people.

The Mermaid Beach Cinema in the early 80s.

In 1987 it was renamed the Mermaid Cinema Centre and grew to five theatres with room for 1600 people.

Opening in December 1987, it was the largest cinema complex in the state at the time.

But a decade later the opening of cinemas at Pacific Fair and Robina saw Mermaid become a second-run theatre and ultimately close in the early 2000s.

The old cinema site now.

THEN - Southport State School

NOW - Southport Central

The state school in central Southport in the mid-1980s.

Southport State School opened in 1879 on Scarborough St and was among the first of the region’s education facilities.

But by the 1980s the school’s campus was bursting at the seams.

A new campus was built on Queen St and the Scarborough St closed at the beginning of the 1990s.

Part of the site was used as a car park for much of the 1990s before the Southport Central towers were built in the mid-2000s.

Southport Central apartment and commercial towers

THEN - Southern Queensland Bulletin offices

NOW - Southport Community Centre

The first Bulletin Building. "Southern Queensland Bulletin" building shed. Supplied photo.

The current location of Southport Community Centre on Lawson St is where the newspaper now known as the Gold Coast Bulletin was originally published.

The first editions were churched out on March 28, 1885 and it soon grew to become a much bigger production.

The Bulletin remained in Southport at various locations until relocating to Molendinar in 1978.

It returned to Southport in 2013.

The community centre at last month’s election. Picture: Andrew Potts