Welcome to Lefty’s

The heart and soul of Americana can be found at Lefty’s Music Hall, nestled on Brisbane’s Caxton Street.

Immerse yourself in Lefty’s vintage charm, an ode to a bygone era of Honky-Tonk rhythms and the nostalgic twang of a fiddle, the spirit of Americana reborn in Brisbane’s Baroona Labor Hall.

A Building Steeped in History

The building has a long and fascinating history. Opened in 1884, Baroona Hall was built by noted architect Richard Gailey for the United Brothers Lodge of the Order of Oddfellows.

A Queensland Government Heritage site tells us the Order was a friendly society committed to moral improvement and practical welfare, who provided low-cost medical insurance. The distinctive dove and handshake symbolism on the façade are reminders of the building’s original use.

“Designed by prolific colonial-era architect Richard Gailey, the building originally housed a hall, two shopfronts and an upper-level lodge room, to conduct Oddfellow rituals,” the site notes. “The hall opened with a concert and soon became a key community space for musical performances, plays and political meetings. Over time, the shops housed stationers, cooks, hairdressers, saddlers, drapers and bootmakers.”

From Factory to Political Hall

In 1909, the building was used as a clothing factory by manufacturers Isidore and Nora Josephson. Their employees made both mass-produced and bespoke clothing, including military uniforms during World War I.

The Queensland Government site tells us the building was acquired by the Paddington Workers Political Association in 1928, and it became known as the Baroona Hall, a centre of local Labor Party activity for decades.

“The hall’s use as a social space for dances and other community events returned, while the shopfronts continued to be tenanted.”

A Hub for Community and Creativity

In the 1970s, the building was used in a variety of ways. The Brisbane Amateur Wrestling Club used the building as a gym and club headquarters and from 1976, the Baroona Legal Service, (later Caxton Street Legal Centre), who were pioneers of free legal aid, were housed in the upper level, where the Oddfellows once conducted their rituals.

The hall was an important live music venue in the late 1970s and 1980s, hosting punk gigs by the likes of The Leftovers, The Survivors, Xero and Razar.

The venue holds a special place in the hearts of musicians and music fans in the ‘70s and 80’s as a welcoming space to play and listen to music.

Dr. John Willsteed, a member of the bands Xero and The Go-Betweens, has spoken of Lefty’s as a central and accessible location for the local music scene, offering a space for creative expression.

Reinvention Through the Years

The venue continued to undergo several transformations during the 1990’s operating as a nightclub under various names.

Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall opened to the public in 2014, and the building once again became a hub for live music, continuing its longstanding historic role as an important social space of Petrie Terrace.

Come in soon and say hello.