It’s always an exciting time when a new gay venue opens. It’s even more exciting when a much-loved venue gets a much-needed facelift.

The doyenne of inner-western gay venues, The Imperial, has been closed down for over a year, but it’s getting ready to re-open again in just over a month’s time. Same Same recently had an exclusive sneak-peek inside the venue and we’ve got your first look inside the updated space.

“It’s hard to appreciate the gravity of what’s been done,” says licensee Michael Slavin of the makeover. “The excavation alone took months.” The new hotel has been completely underpinned with new pillars underneath it, and the floor dug up to allow the original cellar floor to be lowered by a few metres. It’s more than a renovation, it’s a re-birth for the pub that has been trading since the 1940s.

Have a look through the first photos inside the venue here.

To take you through some of the the changes:

In the main room off the street, the bar has moved across to one side of the room. Head up the stairs to brand new toilets (a loo with a view), an outdoor smoking balcony and a lift directly down to the other levels. The lift means the whole venue is wheelchair accessible.

In the next room, the Cabaret bar is almost unrecognisable from its past. Gone are the plastic hanging entrance-way and sticky floors, replaced by polished wooden floor boards, a larger stage and a raised DJ booth.

Craig Mills, the design consultant for the renovation, says that it’s the essence of Priscilla that they’re trying to capture throughout the new venue. “It’s going to look like a gay sunset,” he says. “Lots of pink and orange, it’s based on the colours used in Priscilla the movie but then toned down a bit. It’s also the traditional Aussie pub colours.”

Walk down the stairs and you notice the biggest change to the venue – an underground nightclub. Capable of comfortably holding a few hundred people, it’s like walking into the mezzanine level at Arq, with a nightclub opening up before you as though you’re standing on the edge of a swimming pool.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out our visual tour of the new venue here.