Paragon Theatre, Queenstown

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Paragon Theatre
Paragon Theatre, Queenstown in 2013.jpg
Paragon Theatre, Queenstown in 2013
Paragon Theatre, Queenstown
Address11 McNamara Street
Queenstown, Tasmania
Australia
Coordinates 42°4′48.53″S145°33′17.58″E / 42.0801472°S 145.5548833°E / -42.0801472; 145.5548833
OwnerJoy Chappell & Anthony Coulson
Capacity 1,150 (1933), 750 (1937), 850 (1966), 60 (2009)
Current usecinema, live entertainment
Construction
OpenedOctober 28, 1933
Years active1933-1985, 2003-2015, 2017-present
ArchitectA. Lauriston Crisp
Website
Official site

The Paragon Theatre is a historic cinema and live entertainment venue in Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia.

Contents

History

Commissioned by the Paragon Picture Co Pty Ltd, the art deco theatre was constructed with poured concrete and brick by Carter & Peace. At a cost of over £A5,000, it was advertised as the “city theatre in the country”. The Paragon Theatre opened as a "talkie theatre" on October 28, 1933, with She Done Him Wrong starring Mae West. It was also advertised as the Paragon Talkies in the years after opening. [1] Exhibiting Hollywood films and local newsreels, the Paragon was in direct competition with the neighbouring 1890s Metropole Theatre and Capitol Theatre. [2] [3]

The Paragon enjoyed capacity crowds until home videocassette recordings and video rental stores rose to prominence in the late 1970s. Theatre patronage declined and the venue was repurposed as an indoor cricket stadium in 1985. [3] During this conversion, a new concrete floor was poured directly onto the original wooden floorboards. [4] The original 35mm projectors were removed and are on display at the Galley Museum in Queenstown. Throughout the 1990s it was greatly unoccupied and became a target for vandals. In 2003, the Paragon was purchased by Dr Alex Stevenson, a local GP originally from Zimbabwe. Stevenson and his wife Alice spent five years renovating the theatre into a 60-seat luxury cinema, function venue and café. Part of their restoration included hand-painting the venue's striking floor. The Stevensons returned to Zimbabwe in 2012. [4]

The theatre exchanged hands on several occasions throughout the 2010s. It was purchased by geologist and former cinematographer Francisco Navidad in 2012, however with the decline of the Bluestones Mines at Renison Bell, Navidad was forced to relocate and closed the Paragon in 2014. The theatre was advertised for sale on Gumtree in 2015. [5] Joy Chappell and Anthony Coulson bought the theatre in 2017. [4] Significant cracks in the concrete floor appeared in 2018 as the original floorboards beneath succumb to rot. At a cost of $75,000, funds were raised from a government grant and local charity to drill 136 holes into the floor to underpin the structure. [4] Less than three months later, Jeff Lang and Mark Seymour & The Undertow performed at the venue as part of The Unconformity festival. [6]

Contemporary use

Reopening in 2017, The Paragon currently hosts functions and vintage movie screenings with dinner. [7]

The Paragon has been a key venue for The Unconformity, a biennial three-day arts, music and food festival since 2012. [8] The Unconformity 2021 festival was cancelled due to COVID-19, and is set to return in 2023. [9]

See also

List of theatres in Hobart

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References

  1. ↑ "QUEENSTOWN". The Advocate (Australia) . 12 July 1935. p. 8 (DAILY). Retrieved 7 June 2022– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "QUEENSTOWN". The Examiner (Tasmania) . Vol. LXXXV, no. 167. 15 July 1927. p. 6 (DAILY). Retrieved 7 June 2022– via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 Hooper, Fred (13 October 2015). "Historic Queenstown theatre in Tasmania goes on the market". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Tayler, Pen (31 August 2020). "The Paragon Theatre". Tasmania 40° South . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  5. ↑ Kempton, Helen (12 October 2015). "Queenstown's Paragon Theatre for sale". The Mercury . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Gelston, Scott (12 October 2022). "Mark Seymour and Jeff Lang head to Queenstown for The Unconformity". The Examiner . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Bennett, Lachlan (29 December 2017). "Queentown's historic Paragon Theatre to once again show film". The Advocate . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Warren, Asher (2 November 2018). "The Unconformity festival embraces the power and peculiarity of Tasmania's wild west". The Conversation . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Augustine, Judy (15 April 2022). "Queenstown to come alive for the Unconformity in 2023". The Mercury . Retrieved 7 June 2022.
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