Astor Theatre, Melbourne

Last updated

The Astor Theatre
Astor Theatre facade, Melbourne, 1936.tif
The Astor, circa 1936.
Astor Theatre, Melbourne
General information
Architectural style Jazz moderne [1]
Town or city Chapel Street, St Kilda (Melbourne), Victoria
Country Australia
Coordinates 37°51′29″S144°59′31″E / 37.85806°S 144.99194°E / -37.85806; 144.99194
Current tenants Palace Cinemas
Construction startedDecember 1935 [2]
Completed3 April 1936 [2]
OwnerRalph Taranto
Design and construction
Architect(s)Ron Morton Taylor [2]

The Astor Theatre is a classic, single-screen jazz moderne revival movie theatre in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, first opened in 1936 and still in operation today.

Contents

History

The site at 1-3 Chapel Street, St Kilda has been used for entertainment purposes since the Diamond Picture Theatre opened there on 29 July 1912. [3] It was later renamed the Theatre Rex and closed in 1917. Astor founder Frank O'Collins bought the property in 1935, commissioning architect Ron Morton Taylor who designed the building in the jazz moderne style. Construction work began within a few months, led by the Clements Langford firm.

The Astor officially opened on 3 April 1936 with a seating capacity of 1,673 people. Notably it was one of the last theatres in Melbourne to use the traditional two-level auditorium layout, a costly approach that later fell out of favour. The cinema operated throughout World War II and the post-war era, mostly showing big-name American films from the major studios such as MGM, Paramount and United Artists. [4]

In 1969, the Astor was bought by Tanda Investments and became one of 12 cinemas in Melbourne that played only Greek language films. In the early 1980s, demand from the Greek community declined due to home video and the introduction of SBS, leading to the Astor's brief closure in 1982.

It reopened in 1983 under the leadership of George Florence, who debuted the theatre's new incarnation with a screening of 1933's King Kong . Florence initiated the programming style of the Astor that continues to this day, and designed the classic "calendar" session posters which became popular pin-ups in homes across Melbourne. During this era, the theatre's capacity was reduced to 1,200 so that a stage could be installed for live performances. Many concerts were then held at the Astor throughout the 1980s, including INXS, Midnight Oil and Siouxsie and the Banshees. [5]

In 1998, the Astor was heritage listed by the National Trust. [6] The Trust noted that:

The Astor has historical and social significance for its associations with perhaps the most important mass entertainment of the twentieth century, the cinema. The scale of the theatre and the quality of its decoration evoke the popularity and glamour of cinema as entertainment, particularly during the heyday of cinema in the 1930s. The Astor Theatre, with its Moderne design, spacious foyers and its many original furnishings, objects and surviving early signage, symbolises the suburban cinema experience during the inter-war years when cinema-going reached its peak.

In 2007, the Astor was bought for $3.8 million by St Michael's Grammar School, who left the cinema operating under Florence's guidance but intended to redevelop the building as a performing arts centre. The "Friends of the Astor" community group was formed in response and 12,000 signatures were obtained on a "Save the Astor" petition. The building was then sold again to businessman Ralph Taranto, but disputes with Florence led to the announcement that the Astor would close in 2015. [7] However, this did not eventuate as Palace Cinemas agreed to become the new tenant. [8] There were fears that the building would be divided into three screens, as had been done at the Westgarth Theatre in Northcote, but Palace insisted they were committed to keep the Astor running in its traditional form. Palace CEO Benjamin Zeccola was quoted as saying:

Different rules apply to the Astor... It has an important role to play, not just as a revival cinema or a repertory cinema, but also as an educational institution. It’s a place where school bookings are held. It’s a tourist attraction. It’s a great venue for things such as film festivals, corporate events and weddings. There are a lot of reasons to keep it a single screen. [9]

The Astor is still operating as of 2024 and is currently managed by film critic Zak Hepburn.

Despite a few relatively minor alterations and the passage of close to 90 years, the building has survived almost entirely intact from how it appeared on its first day of operation. [10] This is demonstrated in the below photos, taken by photographer Lyle Fowler shortly after the Astor first opened in 1936.

Stop Making Sense

The Astor has screened the 1984 Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense every January since 2016 and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The screenings are a Melbourne tradition advertised annually as the "Stop Making Sense Dance Party", with all attendees encouraged to get out of their seats and dance. Many attend in David Byrne's iconic oversized suit and others bring props such as floor lamps. [11]

In media

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Kilda, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Coliseum</span> Theatre in London, home to the English National Opera

The London Coliseum is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre of Varieties, it was designed by the architect Frank Matcham for the impresario Oswald Stoll. Their ambition was to build the largest and finest music hall, described as the "people's palace of entertainment" of its age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoyts</span> Australian cinema chain

The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas, a cinema chain, and Val Morgan, which sells advertising on cinema screens and digital billboards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna Park, Melbourne</span> Amusement park in Melbourne, Australia

Luna Park Melbourne is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double feature</span> Exhibition of two films for the price of one

The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subject reels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empire Theatre, Toowoomba</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

The Empire Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre at 56 & 56A Neil Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 31 May 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rex, Berkhamsted</span>

The Rex is a cinema in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. Designed in the art deco style by David Evelyn Nye in 1936, the cinema opened to the public in 1938. After 50 years of service, the cinema closed in 1988 and became derelict. The building was listed Grade II by English Heritage, and following a campaign to save the Rex by a local entrepreneur, the cinema re-opened to the public in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Capitol, Melbourne</span> Historic theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Capitol is an historic Australian theatre on Swanston Street in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria. Opened in 1924 as part of the Capitol House building, the art deco theatre was designed by American husband and wife architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. It is the oldest of Melbourne's large picture palaces and is known for its extravagant decor and abstract motifs, including an intricate geometric ceiling containing thousands of coloured lamps designed to evoke the walls of a crystalline cave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valhalla Cinema, Melbourne</span> Cinema in Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria

The Valhalla Cinema was a repertory and arthouse cinema in Melbourne, Australia. Noted for audience participation films, it was named for Valhalla, the "Hall of the slain" in Norse mythology. It ran as the Valhalla at Victoria Street, Richmond from 1976 until 1987, when it moved to the present location of the Westgarth Theatre in Northcote. In 1996 the Valhalla closed its doors and became Westgarth Cinema, now the Palace Westgarth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palais Theatre</span>

The Palais Theatre, formerly known as Palais Pictures, is a historic picture palace located in St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. With a capacity of nearly 3,000 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Theatre, Melbourne</span>

The National Theatre is a 783-seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets. The building was constructed in 1921 as The Victory Theatre, rebuilt as 2550 seat cinema in 1928, finally converted to a live venue in 1972/4 with 783 seats. The stalls seating was converted to studios and rehearsal rooms for the schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Theatre (Sydney)</span> Heritage-listed theater in Sydney, Australia

The State Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre, located at 47–51 Market Street, in the Sydney central business district in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The theatre was designed by Henry Eli White with assistance from John Eberson and built between 1926 and 1929. It hosts film screenings, live theatre and musical performances, and since 1974 it has been the home of the annual Sydney Film Festival. It is also known as State Building and Wurlitzer Organ. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

In its days as an entertainment centre for London, Harringay in North London also provided more locally directed entertainment in the shape of four cinemas. The earliest was opened in 1910 and was operating as a cinema until January 2003.

Palace Cinemas is an Australian cinema chain that specialises in arthouse and international films.

New Farm Cinemas is a cinema at 701 Brunswick Street, New Farm, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first built c. 1921. It is also known as Astor Theatre, Merthyr Picture Palace, and Village Twin Cinema Complex. While not heritage-listed itself, the New Farm Cinemas redevelopment has retained elements of the heritage-listed Village Twin Cinema, which was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 March 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astor Theatre, Surat</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Astor Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema at 77 Burrowes Street, Surat, Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1925 to 1960s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 September 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Queer Film Festival</span> Annual LGBT film festival in Melbourne, Australia

The Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) is an annual LGBT film festival held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in November. Founded in 1991, it is the largest queer film event in the Southern Hemisphere, in 2015 attracting around 23,000 attendees at key locations around Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odeon Theatre, Hobart</span> Historic theatre in Hobart, Tasmania

The Odeon Theatre is a historic former cinema and live entertainment venue in the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piccadilly Cinema</span> Cinema in Adelaide, South Australia

Piccadilly Cinema(s), formerly Piccadilly Theatre and Forum Cinema, and also known as The Piccadilly, is a cinema located on the corner of O'Connell Street and Childers Street in North Adelaide, South Australia.

References

  1. "Astor Theatre". St. Kilda Historical Society. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 RMIT - The History of "The Astor Theatre" Archived 19 August 2006 at archive.today . Accessed 3 July 2007.
  3. "Diamond Picture Theatre". The Prahran Telegraph. 27 July 1912. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  4. St Kilda Historical Society
  5. Emery, Patrick (2015). "The Astor Theatre: A Retrospective". Beat MAgazine. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  6. Building details on the Heritage Victoria website
  7. "The Astor Theatre to close in 2015". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 August 2014.
  8. "Is this the happy ending The Astor has been waiting for?". The Age . 13 December 2014.
  9. Connellan, Nick (21 April 2015). "The Astor's New Life". Broadsheet. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  10. "Astor Theatre". St. Kilda Historical Society. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  11. "Stop Making Sense". Facebook. Astor Theatre. Retrieved 22 September 2023.