INSIDE: Ballarat City Council mayor Mark Harris talks to the media. Photo: Jeremy Bannister.
THE Civic Hall doors have opened for the first time since 2002 to reveal the grand old art deco dame is in surprisingly good condition.
Click below for Fiona Henderson's video report from inside Civic Hall.
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More than 150 people are expected to tour the Mair Street building today as part of the community engagement process into its future.
While graffiti covers most of the walls, and the floorboards and stage are dusty, the hall itself is virtually unchanged since it started hosting balls, debs, concerts and speech nights from 1956.
Hessian curtains cover the windows, many of which are broken, but the leather chairs, floral carpets and concrete pillars are all in very good condition.
However, large photos of the lower hall reveal broken furniture, lots of rubbish and extensive graffiti due to squatters.
Did you tour Civic Hall? Tell us what you thought
Mayor Mark Harris said the tours were to "inform the submission process" which finishes Friday.
"The Civic Hall was closed down because it wasn't used," Cr Harris said.
"There is a powerful argument to put it back to its creative purpose."
Joan Duffy and her sister Maureen Basford attended a tour for nostalgic reasons, having spent the 1950s attending balls and dances at the hall.
"It's in better condition than I thought," Mrs Duffy said.
"I think it's fantastic. I hope they do something with it but everything moves on I guess."