Page 16 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

By todays' standards the distint style of each theatre was unique. Russell 6 was brick, 4 was wood, 2 had a
floating screen, cinema 1 had drapes all round. The honeycomb roof of the foyer in a huge sweeping wave, was
amazing. The effect has been diminished today due to extra offices being built in the former foyer area. Indeed
a lot has changed. Multiple manning has cut the bio and floor staff dramatically. Suburban multiplexes have
eroded the business. The major attraction, now that all films are released c.ity wide on the same day, is the size
of the cinemas. Even this will soon change as the multiplexes plan auditoriums for over 500 patrons.

This article gives only a brief appraisal of what went on in these cinemas during that 1 0 years 1976-86. Each
cinema will ultimately have its' own extensive history written. Never again will large single screen theatres of
this calibre be economic to operate. A new era dawned in 1986 with the opening of the first suburban multiplex.

Former State Theatre Interior Registered by Daniel Catrice

The interior of the former State Theatre on the corner of Russell and Flinders Streets was recently registered
by the Historic Buildings Council, correcting an oversight which occurred in 1978 when the facade alone was
added to the Register.

Designed after the style of a Moorish palace, the spectacular facade is familiar to readers of Trust News. Yet,
through the former theatre's plate glass doors is an extraordinary, 'atmospheric' interior, not seen by most
Victorians for many years.

Opened amid great ceremony on 23 February 1929, the State Theatre was the largest cinema constructed in
the country, the 'flagship' of the chain of cinemas operated by Union Theatres Limited, the largest exhibition
circuit in Australia.

Entrance to the theatre was through a vestibule decorated in the style of an old world Florentine garden. The
ceiling was arched creating a cerulean blue dome and reproductions of Italian statuary from niches in the walls.
The auditorium, a 'triumph of ingenious construction', replicated an ancient Italian courtyard, with a larger blue
domed ceiling 'crossed by trailing clouds floating beneath many hundred twinkling stars'. The right side of the
auditorium represented a Florentine temple; the left side featured a flirtation balcony said to be a replica of one
in the Doges Palace in Venice. The proscenium was modelled after the style of a Venetian palace and was
surmounted by a reproduction of the Venus de Medici. The decoration incorporated a large amount of statuary;
14 full size figures, 7 smaller figures, 4 busts and two large urns, most in their original locations.

Evolved by the architect John Eberson in the USA, the 'atmospheric' design aimed, in the words of its creator,
for an 'aura of realistic enchantment'. Eberson was the first designer to evolve an architecture specific to the
cinema. The auditorium was made to resemble the set of a film studio, and like the movies, was an extended
visual illusion.

Union Theatres established its first 'atmospheric' cinema at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in April1928, and its
second, the Ambassador in Perth (now demolished), in September of the same year. In 1930 both the Empire
Theatre in Goulburn (now demolished) and the Plaza Theatre in Paddington, Brisbane, opened their scaled-
down suburban versions of the 'atmospheric' cinema to the public. The Plaza is now a discount store while the
Sydney Capitol is currently undergoing major restoration works.

Each of the 'atmospheric' cinemas opened by Union Theatres was built to designs supplied by John Eberson.
Stuart Doyle, managing director of Union Theatres had initially arranged for Eberson to prepare drawings for
the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. These drawings, said to replicate the Riviera Theatre in Omaha, were later
used by Union Theatres for their 'atmospheric' cinemas in Melbourne and Perth. For example, the Australian
Home Beautiful observed in February 1929 that the State Theatre in Melbourne was 'based on the original
plans of John Eberson 'with the 'constructional work and exterior design" supervised by the architects Bohringer,
Taylor & Johnson.

It appears that all of the interior plasterwork for both the Capitol and the State was sent out from the United
States. For instance the statuary was cast by the 'Michelangelo Studio' in Boston, and casts are soon to be
made of much of the statuary at the State which is now missing from the Capitol. In 1962-63, the State Theatre
was converted into two smaller cinemas. The conversion, a considerable technical achievement, incorporated
almost all of the original 'atmospheric' decoration, but sadly not the clouds or star projections.
Reprinted with the kind permission of the National Trust of Australia_ (Vic)- Trust News Dec. 1994