Enfield Savoy Theatre

Last updated

Enfield Savoy Theatre
  • Enfield Cinema
  • Hoyts Savoy Theatre
  • Enfield Savoy
Location map Australia Sydney.png
Red pog.svg
Enfield Savoy Theatre
Location within Sydney
Address306-308 Liverpool Road, Enfield
Sydney, New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates 33°53′13″S151°05′34″E / 33.88686°S 151.09290°E / -33.88686; 151.09290
Capacity 1,878
Current use Hardware store
Construction
Opened16 November 1927 (1927-11-16)
Closed9 January 1960 (1960-01-09)
ArchitectClifford M. Chard, Lewis Kaberry, George Newton Kenworthy
Website
strathfieldheritage.org/recreation-and-shops/enfield-savoy-cinema/

The Enfield Savoy Theatre (previously the Enfield Cinema; subsequently the Hoyts Savoy Theatre; also known as the Enfield Savoy) was a theatre and cinema located at 306-308 Liverpool Road, Enfield, a suburb in the inner west region of Sydney, New South Wales. The building now functions as a hardware store.

Contents

History

Designed by the architectural firm Kaberry and Chard, [1] the theatre was opened on 16 November 1927, with a seating capacity of 1,878. [2] In 1928 Enfield Council valued the building at 17,000. [1]

In 1930 there was an armed hold up at the theatre. [3] In 1932, Western Suburbs Cinemas Ltd, a company which also operated the Strathfield Melba and Homebush Theatre in Sydney’s western suburbs took over management of the Enfield Savoy. [1]

The theatre was redesigned in the Art Deco style in 1938. [4] The façade and interior were rebuilt under guidance of architect G N Kentworthy who also designed Cremorne Orpheum Theatre and a Christie organ was added and was opened by organist Dennis Palmistra. [2] The instrument was originally installed in the Hoyts De Luxe Theatre, Melbourne, then the Hoyts Plaza Theatre, Sydney. [1] [2] The cinema was renamed the Savoy and reopened by the Mayor of Enfield in July 1938. [1]

In 1944 Western Suburbs Cinemas Ltd was taken over by Hoyts resulting in a name change to the Hoyts Savoy Theatre. [1]

The last film shown at the cinema was Some Like It Hot in 1960. [4] [1]

It was converted into a carpet & furniture shop in 1981, and continues today as a plumbing & bathroom company. [5]

Later years

After the cinema closed, the building had various retail uses including Shoppers World (1960), [2] carpet and furniture store (1981), [2] Quality House, Whitewood Warehouse, and the Poliak Building Supply Company. [2] [4]

A campaign in 2017 to list the building on the local heritage register was unsuccessful. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homebush, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Strathfield</span> Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Strathfield is a local government area in the West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathfield, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A small section of the suburb north of the railway line lies within the City of Canada Bay, while the area east of The Boulevard lies within the Municipality of Burwood. North Strathfield and Strathfield South are separate suburbs to the north and south, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathfield South, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Strathfield South is a suburb, in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia in the state of New South Wales, 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Strathfield local government area. The area was historically part of Druitt Town. Later it was part of Enfield, until Enfield Council was absorbed into Strathfield and Burwood councils, after which the part within Strathfield council was renamed Strathfield South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belfield, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Belfield is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 8 miles (13 km) southwest of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown and partly in the Municipality of Strathfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enfield, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Enfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 11 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Municipality of Burwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enmore Theatre</span> Theatre in Enmore, New South Wales

The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Enmore, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1908. It is located at 118–132 Enmore Road in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney's suburbs. It was first opened in 1912 as a photo-play theatre. It was run by a well-known theatre family at the time, the Szarka Brothers. Today's Enmore Theatre is the longest running live theatre in Sydney, hosting concerts, comedians, plays and all forms of performance. The theatre is considered a medium-sized venue that holds 1,700 people when fully seated and 2,500 when seats are removed, and all attendees are standing. It has hosted many international bands including a performance by Bob Dylan. The venue's art deco style is protected by its listing as a historic building within Sydney. The Enmore theatre has had many renovations and shifts of ownership. Today it is owned by Century and has hosted a range of arts from photographic, performing arts, music and motion picture. The theatre's listing in the Office of Environment and Heritage states that the building "illustrates the development of suburban theatres in the late 1930s and early 1940s and is of social significance for the local community.″ It is the only theatre in Sydney from the Art Deco movement in its original condition. From cinema use to concerts, today is used for various reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regent Theatre (Sydney)</span> Former cinema and entertainment venue in Sydney, Australia

The Regent Theatre was a heritage-listed cinema and entertainment venue in George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, built in 1928 as a flagship for Hoyts, and was demolished in 1988 by property developer Leon Fink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westfield Burwood</span> Shopping mall in New South Wales, Australia

Westfield Burwood is a large shopping centre in the suburb of Burwood in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regent Theatre, Brisbane</span> Heritage-listed cinema in Brisbane, Queensland

Regent Theatre was a heritage-listed cinema at 167 Queen Street, Brisbane, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey, Charles N Hollinshed and Aaron Bolot and built from 1928 to 1929 by J & E L Rees and A J Dickenson. It was one of the original Hoyts' Picture Palaces from the 1920s. It is also known as Regent Building. The auditorium interior was largely lost when it was converted into a 4 screen complex in 1979–1980, but the building, including the surviving entrance and main foyer, was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Theatre, Sydney</span>

The former Plaza Theatre in Sydney, New South Wales is a heritage-listed building designed as a 2000-seat cinema by Eric Heath for the Hoyts Group, and opened in 1930. It is no longer used as a cinema.

The Regal Theatre, formerly known as the Chelsea Cinema, the Princess Theatre and the Ozone Marryatville or Marryatville Ozone Theatre, is a single-screen cinema in Kensington Park, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Originally built in 1925, it retains the features of a major renovation in Art Deco style in 1941, and was heritage-listed on the state register in 1983. It is the oldest continuously running purpose-built cinema in Adelaide, and the only remaining silent cinema still operating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Kent (architect)</span> English-born Australian architect

Harry Chambers Kent (1852–1938) was an English-born Australian architect. He was Sydney-based during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a leader of his profession as President of the Institute of Architects of NSW (1906–07). During his career he was associated with the design of over 670 buildings. Many of his designs are heritage listed and two are on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savoy Hotel, Perth</span> Former hotel in Perth, Western Australia

The Savoy Hotel is a heritage-listed former hotel in Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It was built in the 1910s and closed in 1991. It is listed on the State Register of Historic Places, has been classified by the National Trust of Australia, and was listed on the former Register of the National Estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Enfield (New South Wales)</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Enfield was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as the Borough of Enfield on 17 January 1889 and, with an area of 3.6 square kilometres, included the modern suburbs of Croydon, Croydon Park and Strathfield South, with parts of Enfield, Belfield and Greenacre included in the West Ward. In 1949, the council was split into two, with Central and East Wards being added to the Municipality of Burwood and the West Ward being added into the Municipality of Strathfield, with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crest Theatre, Granville</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Crest Theatre is a heritage-listed former cinema and ballroom and now community centre at 157 Blaxcell Street, Granville, City of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Cowper and Murphy and Associates and built in 1948 by A. W. Edwards Pty Ltd. It is also known as Hoyts Crest Theatre. Following its purchase by the Australian Blouza Association, it has been referred to as Blouza Hall. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 1 August 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roxy Theatre, Parramatta</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Roxy Theatre is a heritage-listed former theatre at 65-69 George Street, Parramatta, City of Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Moore & Dyer in association with Herbert & Wilson. It is also known as Roxy Spanish Theatre, Hoyts Roxy Centre, Village Roxy 3 and The Roxy. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Uniting Church, Strathfield</span> Church in New South Wales, Australia

The Trinity Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church located at 62 The Boulevarde, in the Sydney suburb of Strathfield in the Municipality of Burwood local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Sydney Jones & Harry Thompson and built from 1889 to 1890 by Thomas Hanley of Balmain. It is also known as Trinity Congregational Church. The property is owned by the Uniting Church in Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 19 September 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace</span> Cinema built in Sydney, Australia in 1935

The Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, also known and originally as the Cremorne Orpheum Theatre, is a heritage-listed cinema located at 380 Military Road, in the northern Sydney suburb of Cremorne in the North Sydney Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Newton Kenworthy and built in 1935 by F. T. Eastment and Sons. It was added as a Heritage Item to the North Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2013 on 2 August 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Newton Kenworthy</span> English-born Australian architect

George Newton Kenworthy FRAIA, also known as G. N. Kenworthy or "Kennie", was a leading Sydney architect and Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects best associated for his work in partnership with Henry Eli White and for his building designs in the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, Functionalist and Spanish Mission styles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Enfield Savoy Cinema". Strathfield Heritage. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roe, Ken. "Hoyts Savoy Theatre in Sydney, AU - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. "SHOTS FIRED". The Maitland Daily Mercury . No. 18, 534. New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1930. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2018 via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 "Savoy Cinema/Quality House/Whitewood Warehouse/Poliak Building Supply Co. – Enfield, NSW". Past/Lives of the Near Future. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. "Hoyts Savoy Theatre". cinema treasures. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. McKee, Jillian (3 July 2017). "Two iconic theatres miss out on heritage listing". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

Further reading