The Piccadilly Cinema Centre (formerly Piccadilly Theatre) and Piccadilly Arcade are located at 700-704
Hay Street,
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia. It is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, designed by architect
William T. Leighton
William Thomas Leighton (1905–1990) was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Australian architectural styles, Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings.
Leighton was born in Fremantle ...
for mining entrepreneur
Claude de Bernales
Claude Albo de Bernales (31 May 1876 – 9 December 1963) was a Western Australian mining entrepreneur whose business activities and marketing did much to stimulate investment in Western Australia during the early years of the twentieth ce ...
. The theatre and arcade opened in 1938, with the arcade connecting Hay Street through to
Murray Street.
In 1984 the theatre and arcade underwent a significant refurbishment, with the refurbishment winning an architectural award from the
Royal Australian Institute of Architecture (WA Chapter) in 1986.
The theatre and arcade are classified by the
National Trust of Australia
The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...
and are included on the State Heritage Register. The Piccadilly Cinema was the last operating cinema in the Perth
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
before its closure in 2013 and until the opening of
Raine Square
Raine Square is a property in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It is in a block bound by Murray Street, William Street and Wellington Streets. The square is named after Joe and Mary Raine.
History
The square was ...
's Palace Cinema in 2018.
Following a three-year refurbishment and renovation, the arcade was reopened in November 2021.
History
The Piccadilly Theatre, was one of a number of theatres and cinemas constructed in Perth and its suburbs during the Inter-war period. Originally constructed in the Inter-war Functionalist style, the Piccadilly represented the desire for enjoyment and entertainment displayed by Western Australians towards the end of the Depression.
At the time of its construction, the place was fitted out with the most modern features and was the first cinema in Western Australia to be air conditioned.
The site was acquired by
Claude Albo de Bernales's Australian Machinery and Investment Company Ltd in 1935.
Bernales after completing the construction of
London Court
London Court is a three and four-level open-roofed shopping arcade located in the central business district in Perth, Western Australia. It was built in 1937 by wealthy gold financier and businessman Claude de Bernales for residential and commer ...
in July 1937 turned his attention to his property between Hay and Murray Streets. He set up Piccadilly Arcade Pty Ltd and engaged architects Alfred Baxter Cox and
Leighton to design a theatre and shopping arcade for the site.
The construction of Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade utilised part of the existing buildings on the site, with the construction contract going to a local firm, General Construction Company.
Piccadilly Arcade opened in February 1938, with the theatre opening, a month later, on 10 March 1938.
When it opened the theatre had a seating capacity of 1,100.
The theatre and arcade feature a number of
bas relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
s of dancing girls and 'Atlas type' figures which were moulded by Perth sculptor
Edward Kohler
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
. Kohler was the second professionally trained sculptor to practise successfully in Western Australia.
Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade remained under the ownership of Piccadilly Arcade Pty Ltd until 1978, when it changed hands a few times.
In 1983, the owners Australian Fixed Trust (Permanent Trustee Nominees, Canberra) made a decision to restore Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade, and it was closed for refurbishment.
Perth architect, Ian Tucker, was responsible for the work. The theatre and arcade reopened in March 1984. The $2 million (AUD) refurbishment won the
Royal Australian Institute of Architects (WA Chapter) 'Architecture Design Award for Renovated Buildings' in 1986.
Following the refurbishment, Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade was purchased for a reported $9.9 million by Alister Norwood, founder of
Jeans West.
In 1989 the cinema was sold by Hoyts to Glen Darlington, of Classic Cinemas, and closed briefly in early 1990. Malcolm Leech then took over the lease, and converted a section of the disused stalls into a small cinema, making the Piccadilly into a twin
screen
Screen or Screens may refer to:
Arts
* Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing
* Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry
* Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...
, seating 443 and 165 respectively. Leech subsequently converted the cinema into a triplex by adding a third cinema, with 103 seats, behind the main screen.
In May 2001 Leech leased it to Dennis McKenna.
In 1992, Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade was purchased by current owners Winston Holdings Pty Ltd, Su-Rama Holdings Pty Ltd and Ayoman Pty Ltd, as tenants in common.
In March 2005 the operation of the cinema was taken over by Cyril Watson, with the previous tenant, McKenna, leaving the cinema in 2004 with large unpaid debts.
On 23 March 2010, a thunder storm with conditions not seen in almost fifty years damaged the cinema, forcing its temporary closure. The cinema re-opened after repair works were completed on 1 April 2010.
In May 2013, it was revealed that a portion of the cinema's roof had collapsed due to poor maintenance.
In September 2013, the current leaseholder of the cinema, Cyril Watson, announced that the cinema would close at the end of the September school holidays. It is reportedly $400,000 in debt for unpaid rent. The cinema space re-opened briefly in 2014 as the Noodle Palace venue as part of the
Fringe World
Fringe World, formerly Fringe World Festival, is an annual multi-arts fringe festival held in Perth, Western Australia during the city's summer festival season of January/February. The annual program of events features artists and acts from a r ...
Festival. It has also been used as a retail space and kickboxing studio.
In October 2018, a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the cinema and arcade was confirmed. The cinema will be converted to a live performance theatre with a lounge and bar. The arcade will get new lighting, flooring and shopfronts. Tenders for a builder closed in October 2018 and work is expected to begin in January 2018. The City of Perth approved a $665,575 heritage adaptive reuse grant to be provided over five years for the redevelopment. The redevelopment was completed in November 2021.
Heritage value
The Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade was interim listed on the Register of the National Estate on 5 December 1988 and classified by the
National Trust of Australia (WA)
The National Trust of Western Australia, officially the National Trust of Australia (W.A.), is a statutory authority that delivers heritage services, including conservation and interpretation, on behalf of the Western Australian government and c ...
on 5 December 1988. The building(s) were also included on the
City of Perth
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
's Municipal Inventory on 13 March 2001 and were permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places on 20 December 2002 by the
Heritage Council of Western Australia
The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.
Prior to its creation, considerable variance in policy and ...
.
Haunting
The complex is reportedly haunted by the
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
of a former manager.
References
Further reading
*''A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present'' Apperly, R., Irving, R. and Reynolds (1989) North Ryde, Angus and Robertson
*''Perth: A Cinema History'' Bell, M.D (1986) Sussex, Book Guild
*''Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia'' : Geneve, V. '
William Thomas Leighton: Cinema Architect of the 1930s' in Bromfield, D. (ed.) 1988,
University of Western Australia Press
UWA Publishing, formerly known as the Text Books Board and then University of Western Australia Press, is a Western Australian publisher established in 1935 by the University of Western Australia. It produces a range of non-fiction and fiction t ...
,
Nedlands
*''Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia'' : Taylor, Robyn. 'Edward F Kohler, Perth Sculptor 1890-1964' in Bromfield, David (ed.) 1988, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands
External links
Official Piccadilly Cinemas websiteCinemaWeb: Piccadilly Theatre
{{Cinemas in Western Australia
Cinemas in Perth, Western Australia
Former cinemas
Hay Street, Perth
Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia
State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth
Buildings and structures completed in 1938
Art Deco architecture in Western Australia
Shopping malls established in 1938