Page 5 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

40. The Kyabram Plaza Theatre by Mike Purden & Kevin Simmons

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Plaza Theatre 1995 - Photo: Alan Windley
One of the first films screened in Kyabram was the silent production of "Quo Vadis" in 1913 at the Mechanics
1
Hall. In October of 1925 an open air theatre the, "Lyric", was successfully launched behind what is now known
as Hilton's Electrical. Rows of canvas seats and a sweets stall added to the comfort of patrons, and they were
entertained with perfect projection and splendid music. An orchestra consisting of a piano, three violins and a
cornet dispensed a program of sweet music, which the audience was not slow to appreciate. Scarcely two
months later a second theatre, the ''Paramount", opened in a quadrangle behind the Mechanics Hall. lts superiority
over the "Lyric", if any, lay in the more subtle balance achieved by the instruments of the orchestra, which in
this case were a violin, cornet, mandolin and cello. A third open air theatre was operated by an American, Mr.
Badbard, next to Campbell's Tyre Service. This theatre only had a piano to accompany films until talkies.

In 1928 the Kyabram Free Press announced Mr. Lewis H. Day would be erecting a new cinema, theatre,
playhouse and dance palais in Allan Street, billed as the "Showplace of the Valley". Designed by Dunstan
Reynolds and Partners of Temple Court, Melbourne, the building would not only serve as a picture theatre but
would provide an excellent dance floor of 1 00 ft. x 54 ft. on the ground floor for large gatherings, and a similar
floor, 64ft. x 36ft. on the balcony floor for smaller functions. The main street frontage would comprise a central
entrance 20 ft. wide, with a large shop on either side. Access to the stalls from the entrance foyer was by means
of a double doorway and two staircases 5 ft. wide leading to the large balcony foyer above.

The stalls would seat approximately 750 persons, the seating being moveable allowing the area to be converted
into a large ballroom. The northern end of the auditorium would contain the orchestra pit, stage (35ft. x 17 ft.)
and dressing rooms either side. The balcony, seating approximately 270 persons, was reached from the balcony
foyer by means of two short stairs, and provided a comfortable view of the screen to all patrons. The walls of
the auditorium were finished internally in a rough textured sand finish, and coloured in appropriate tints. The
walls of the foyer were plastered and panelled out in attractive stucco treatment, which provided a pleasing
scheme of decoration.

The ceilings throughout the building were of stamped steel in appropriate designs, in keeping with the remainder
of the building. The projection room was located outside the rear wall of the main auditorium, behind the
balcony, providing ample accommodation for machinery and incidental equipment, and easy access was provided
from the balcony foyer without entering the auditorium. The construction was brick, the facade to Allan Street
being finished with simple ornamental treatment in cement, and coloured. The completion of the building was
scheduled for December 1928, or January 1929.

Movies did not commence until Saturday, May 25th, 1929 2 , showing silent films, and talkies were shown by
the Hoyts "Talkie Road Show" in 1930. On Saturday, February 7th, 1931, the theatre started showing talkies,
using its own newly installed Western Electric sound system.