Page 11 - CR-89AA

The Wurlitzer organ installed in the theatre was
a style 260 with 3 manuals and 15 ranks. Les
Waldron was the first resident organist until
October 1931 and other organists who
performed at the theatre included Jack Laing,
Jimmie Miller, Reubert Hayes, Bernie Randall
and Stanfield Holliday. The console was on a
hoist on the left of the auditorium. It was
removed from the theatre in 1946, taken to
Melbourne and installed in the Regent
Theatre with a rebuilt console and added ranks
from the Paramount Theatre organ. This was
to replace the organ lost in the Regent fire in
1945.

When Union Theatres ended their operations
in Western Australia, the lease was taken over
by Hoyts in around 1938. William Leighton
was the architect who modernised (desecrated)
the facade and entrance of the theatre. The
statues, trees and vines were removed from the
auditorium which did not enhance the look of
the theatre.

In July 1928, Stuart Doyle announced that two
more atmospherics would be built in Adelaide
and Brisbane. The one in Adelaide was to be
erected on the site of West's Olympia in
Hindley Street, and the corner of Albert and
Queen Streets was considered for the Brisbane
theatre. Neither were built which was, no
doubt, due to the arrival of the Depression.
I also discovered that Mr. Jack Kouvelis,
Director of West Coast Theatres Pty. Ltd., was
in Perth in 1928 to meet with Bohringer
regarding the building of three atmospherics
in Perth suburbs. These were to be an Egyptian
style in Subiaco, a Spanish style in Claremont
and a Moorish style at Mount Lawley. The
depression can be blamed for these theatres
failing to materialise.
Sadly, the Ambassadors closed on 2 February
1972 with the James Bond movie Diamonds Above: The grand stairway leading to upper lounge foyer
Below: The ticket box is the centre piece of the foyer
are Forever and was later
demolished and replaced by
smaller cinemas.
Today there are no cinemas
remaining in the Perth CBD. ê
Editor’s Note:
It is interesting to note that when
Hoyts took over the
Ambassadors, they relinquished
the lease on the Regent.
Subsequently MGM took over
the lease of the Regent,
modernised it and opened it as the
Metro.

Images:

State Library of WA.
J.S. Battye Library of Western
Australian History.
State Library of NSW.
Graeme McBain Collection.
CATHS’ archive

CINEMARECORD # 89 11