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finished in shades of eucalyptus and iridescent
green. An inverted sunflower is the motif of the
ceiling with the electric light fitting in the
heart.”
The seating and the facilities, concludes
Cunningham, “equalled those of most of the
picture palaces in the city.”

Perhaps that explains why my parents and I
rarely ventured into the cinemas of the city.
There was no need; those along Sydney Road
catered for our needs and were conveniently
located. During my childhood, the local
cinemas screened mainstream movies in the
English language. Any other tastes, such as
those who like foreign films, were catered for
by the Savoy Theatre in the city. My father’s
left-wing political leanings attracted him to
films from the Soviet Union and I have vague
memories of going into the city to see Russian
films that were invariably set during the
The Lygon Theatre, 186 Lygon St. East Brunswick c. 1950. Opened 1924; closed 1959 Second World War.
The Padua, by contrast, was stunningly Forty years on, my memory was also jogged by
elegant and luxurious, capable of comfortably the Argus newspaper’s description of the The local cinemas in Brunswick and Coburg
seating nearly 1800 people and spotlessly innovatively modern foyer:- reflected the changing times, and were
clean due to an authoritarian regime of ushers. ultimately victim to them. The post-War
The Alhambra and the Padua were only a few “A streamlined teardrop shaped ticket box in economic boom and rapid population growth
blocks away from each other, and both run by steel, glass and finished in green lacquer is the that had sustained them as profitable business
Hoyts, but they were totally different picture- centre feature in the entrance foyer. The box is ventures were suddenly diverted by the advent
going experiences. Rumour had it that Hoyts set in the middle of a tile floor in shades of dull of television in 1956. Thereafter, it was all
had taken over the Alhambra during the red and vermilion. The walls and ceiling are downhill for the suburban picture theatres.
Second World War with a view to running it
down and rendering it an ineffectual Below: The Liberty, 499 Lygon St. East Brunswick c 1986. Opened 1935; closed 1987
competitor to the Padua.

With the passage of time, it is difficult to recall
details of each cinema or to be entirely sure as
to which film was seen at which place. A
significant slice of Brunswick’s cinema story
has been captured for posterity by Laurie
Cunningham, whose book Frame by Frame; A
History of Brunswick’s Picture Theatres was
published by the Brunswick Community
History Group in 1995. Thanks to his fine
research, it is possible to remember just how
palatial a cinema existed in the form of the
Padua. Located on top of Sydney Road hill
(adjacent to the site of the current Brunswick
market), the Padua had a tubular façade with
flat side roofs. The following quotation was
taken by Cunningham from the Brunswick
Guardian’s report of the Padua’s opening in
July 1937:-

“The whole exterior is strikingly unorthodox.
Construction is in pale straw-coloured bricks,
encircled by horizontal lines of light green.
Shop fronts and theatre entrances are of pale
green glass and the theatre is air conditioned.
Seating is provided for 2000 persons and in
addition to a novel floating screen, there is a
revolving stage capable of presenting three
complete settings. In place of the usual
proscenium arch, there is a series of black
receding shutters between which hang thin net
curtains illuminated from the rear. The screen
which forms the background to these shutters
has the appearance of hanging in the air
without support. For the convenience of
mothers with babies a ‘crying room’ is
provided.”

16 CINEMARECORD # 96