sentences:  The Plaza closed in November of that year, and in December 1970, an auction was held at the theatre where everything that was not bolted down was auctioned off, raising a few thousand dollars.In response to the closure and clouds over the building's future, a "Save the Regent" committee was soon formed by former theatre staff, theatre enthusiasts and others including Loris Webster, who ran a nearby cafe) to campaign for its preservation.The Regent was located next to the site that the Melbourne City Council finally chose in 1966 for the much talked about City Square project, and Council soon moved to purchase the closed theatre to enable a larger scale redevelopment, at first including a high-rise hotel.