The Grand Theatre was a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

located at 164–168 Murray 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 was opened in September 1916 and closed in November 1980. The building was demolished in March 1990.

History

The Grand Theatre opened on Wednesday 20 September 1916, with a seating capacity of 1,300, with 1,000 in the stalls and 300 in the dress circle. It was opened by the

Mayor of Perth __TOC__ The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods: *From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia *From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''Per ...

, Frank Rea, with a charity fund-raising gala for wounded soldiers, which included a performance by a "Soldiers Orchestra" and the screening of ''

A Yellow Streak ''A Yellow Streak'' is a 1915 American silent Western film directed by William Nigh and starring Lionel Barrymore, Irene Howley and Niles Welch.Nevins & Keller, p. 130. Plot After a Wall Street broker is ruined by his wife's lover, a busines ...

'', featuring

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

. The

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

styled theatre was built for entrepreneur

Thomas Coombe Sir Thomas Melrose Coombe (3 December 1873 – 22 July 1959) was an Australian cricketer, businessman and philanthropist, best known for his role in the film industry of Western Australia. Early life Coombe was born at Melrose, South Australia ...

, and designed by architect Richard Joseph Dennehy for a cost of £20,000. The main entrance fronted onto Murray Street, and led to a wide marble tiled and mirror-lined vestibule with a large marble staircase. The by theatre

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

was unique in Western Australia, in that it had a

windlass The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound arou ...

-operated sliding roof, and also removable shutters on the side walls to allow for cross-ventilation. It had a by screen. It also had a secondary entrance facing

Barrack Street Barrack Street is one of two major cross-streets in the Perth central business district, central business district of Perth, Western Australia. Together with St Georges Terrace, Wellington Street, Perth, Wellington Street and William Street, Pe ...

. While initially independent, it became a part of the Union Theatres chain. In September 1929, the theatre abandoned its orchestra and was wired for sound, with the screening of its first "

talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...

", ''

The Midnight Taxi The Midnight Taxi is a 1928 American early part-talkie thriller picture from Warner Bros. directed by John G. Adolfi and starring Antonio Moreno, Helen Costello, and Myrna Loy. According to the Library of Congress, it has a completed copy of ...

'', occurring on 2 September 1929. On 29 April 1932 it became an all-British house, showcasing the most prestigious British films. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the Grand Theatre was under financial threat and in 1931 was sold for £82,000 to Town and Suburban Properties Ltd, who leased it back to Union Theatres. In August 1932 the company was unable to maintain their rental payments and the

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

s were brought in, with the theatre being taken over by the property owners. On 25 August 1932, Town and Suburban Properties Ltd formed a new company, the Grand Theatre Company, to operate the theatre rather than risk leasing it to another tenant. The company, run by James Stiles (1888–1944), gradually expanded, leasing the Regent Theatre (renamed the Metro), purchasing the Princess Theatre (Fremantle) and building the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

. The Grand Theatre, the oldest in the company's group of theatres, was relegated to being a "churn house" (a theatre that played continuous sessions). A number of minor changes to the façade of the building were made over the course of time, including painting of the brickwork, the installation of a new neon sign running the length of the façade, and the replacement of the original ornate metal

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

with a more up-to-date style. The inside of the theatre however underwent significant changes. The theatre's first major reconstruction occurred in 1938 under the supervision of local architectural firm Baxter-Cox & Leighton, headed 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 ...

, at a cost of £6,000. The renovations occurred over a four-week period; the dress circle was demolished and remodelled with the aisles between the seats widened, the supporting pillars in the stalls were removed, all the internal arches and cornices were bricked up, a new plaster

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

installed, the upstairs landings enlarged to form a smoking lounge, new ticket boxes and glass doors added and a new internal new colour scheme in pastel shades introduced. The theatre also reportedly became the first in Australia to be illuminated entirely by neon lights. The second major renovation occurred in 1949, with an extensive internal refurbishment and refurnishing. The Grand Theatre Company evolved into City Theatres Pty Ltd, and in 1973 City Theatres was acquired by a local television and entertainment consortium comprising Michael Edgley International Ltd, Swan Television and TVW Ltd. In August 1978 TVW Ltd purchased the company outright from the other members of the consortium. The theatre closed on 6 November 1980, following the opening of the nearby Cinema City complex by TVW Ltd. The building was subsequently converted into a family restaurant, Pizza Showtime, and in 1984 into an Asian food hall before it was demolished in March 1990.

References

External links

State Library of Western Australia – Pictures of Grand Theatre
{{Cinemas in Western Australia 1916 establishments in Australia 1980 disestablishments in Australia Cinemas in Perth, Western Australia Former cinemas Theatres completed in 1916 Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia Heritage places of Western Australia Murray Street, Perth Former buildings and structures in Perth, Western Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 1990 Demolished buildings and structures in Western Australia