Work to reopen a Melbourne landmark has taken a step forward with the state agreeing to help fund the rescue and restoration of Luna Park’s Luna Palace building at St Kilda.
The Victorian Government has committed $5 million in its 2025-26 Budget to help restore the building that is home to the Penny Arcade and dodgems.
The palace opened as part of the park in 1912.
Luna Park Melbourne, which manages the site, will contribute $17 million to the restoration project. Work has begun and the Luna Palace is scheduled to open by November.
The work includes an expansion of the arcade space and function venue so the building can host events, creating an ongoing revenue stream for the park.
Pamela Irving’s mosaics on the exterior of Luna Palace, installed between 2010 and 2013, have been removed for safekeeping until restoration is complete.
Restoration work is also under way on Luna Park’s towers with architectural features renewed, repainted and relit.
The Mr Moon entrance to Luna Park was renovated in 2022.
The oldest amusement park in Australia, Luna Park attracts 800,000 visitors each year and supports more than 250 jobs.
It has 20 rides in operation, one of the few heritage amusement parks left in the world that does, including the Carousel that was built in 1913.
The park’s Great Scenic Railway is one of the world’s oldest continually operating roller-coasters using its original mechanism.
