Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade
Encyclopedia
Hay Street, Perth
Hay Street is a major road through the CBD of Perth, Western Australia. The street was named after Robert William Hay, the Permanent Under Secretary for Colonies. Sections of the road were called Howick Street and Twiss Street until 1897...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, designed by architect William T. Leighton
William T. Leighton
William Thomas Leighton was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings....
for mining entrepreneur Claude de Bernales
Claude de Bernales
Claude Albo de Bernales 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 century...
. The theatre and arcade opened in 1938, with the arcade connecting Hay Street through to Murray Street
Murray Street, Perth
Murray Street is one of four main east-west roads within the Perth central business district.The street, the central portion of which has become a pedestrian mall, was named after Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1828 to 1830.It is the one main road in Perth that...
. 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
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
and are included on the State Heritage Register. The Piccadilly Cinema is the only remaining operating cinema in the Perth central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
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
Claude de Bernales
Claude Albo de Bernales 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 century...
's Australian Machinery and Investment Company Ltd in 1935. Bernales after completing the construction of London Court
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 commercial purposes...
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
William T. Leighton
William Thomas Leighton was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings....
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 theate had a seating capacity of 1,100.
The theatre and arcade feature a number of bas relief frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn 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. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s of dancing girls and 'Atlas type' figures which were moulded by Perth sculptor Edward Kohler. 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 Alistair Norwood, the then owner of Jeans West. 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 the 1990s the theatre was redeveloped and now has three screens
Projection screen
A projection screen is an installation consisting of a surface and a support structure used for displaying a projected image for the view of an audience. Projection screens may be permanently installed, as in a movie theater; painted on the wall; or semi-permanent or mobile, as in a conference room...
. Cinema one has been operating since the complex was redeveloped and has four hundred seats. The cinema still has it art deco design, the original tables and chairs in the foyer.
On 4 March 2010, Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
became the first 3-D film
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
to be shown at the cinema.
On 23 March 2010, a thunder storm with conditions not seen in almost fifty years damaged the cinema, forcing its temporary closure. It is unknown exactly what damage was inflicted. The only information available is displayed on the website. The cinema re-opened after repair works were complete on 1 April 2010.
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 (WA)National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
on 5 December 1988. The building(s) were also included on the City of Perth
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...
'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
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.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...
.
Restoration
In February 2010, a message was displayed on the cinemas website stating that everyone who attended the cinema was helping to restore it. This possibly means a restoration is being planned, although this cannot be confirmed.Haunting
The complex is reportedly haunted by the ghostGhost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of a former manager. It is stated on the CinemaWeb website, the ghost was first discovered by a repairman fitting doors onto cinema one. He claimed to have seen it as a "shadowy figure" walking across the foyer to the lift. However, his account states that it was a customer, not a manager, who was locked in one night and fell down the stairs in the dark. The customer was found dead in the morning. It is also stated that in order to do his work properly, one of the cleaners had to have every light on and the pre-show music playing so that he would not be too scared.
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 LeightonWilliam T. LeightonWilliam Thomas Leighton was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings....
: Cinema Architect of the 1930s' in Bromfield, D. (ed.) 1988, University of Western Australia PressUniversity of Western Australia PressUWA Publishing, formerly known as the University of Western Australia Press, is a Western Australian publisher established in 1935. It produces a range of non-fiction and fiction titles, introducing cookbooks into its list in 2008.-History:...
, NedlandsNedlands, Western AustraliaThe City of Nedlands is a Local Government Area in the inner western suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about west of Perth's central business district... - 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