Victa Cinema

Last updated

Victa Cinema is a state heritage-listed cinema in the town of Victor Harbor, South Australia. The original building was designed by noted cinema architect Chris A. Smith and opened in 1923, but was extensively damaged by fire and rebuilt in 1934 to designs by F. Kenneth Milne. This reconstructed building is thought to be one of the first buildings in South Australia created in a style known as streamlined architecture. Its ownership changed from its first private owner, to National Pictures, to Ozone Theatres in 1928, before being taken over by Hoyts in 1951. After partial closure in the 1960s it was run by a series of independent operators, with an extra screen being added in 1998 and later renovations in 2005. Since 2020 it has been owned by the City of Victor Harbor.

Contents

History

The Victor Theatre, described as a "beautiful new picture palace" [1] was was designed by noted cinema architect Chris A. Smith and built on the site of Ocean Street Garage, owned by D. H. Griffin & Sons. [1] Construction was completed in four and a half months and cost £6,000. [2] David Henry Griffin was a businessman who had also worked in public service, had twice contested seats in the House of Assembly, and had run a picture theatre in Murray Bridge. Moving to Victor Harbor, he had been a councillor for two years and mayor of the town for a term. He first operated a motor garage on the site of the theatre, before moving the garage and getting the theatre constructed on the site. [3] It opened under the control of Griffin Pictures on 24 November 1923, just before Griffin's 60th birthday, and seated 700 people. [1] The mayor J. C. Joy and his wife were present at the opening. [3] On 30 November 1923, the 1922 Canadian film The Man from Glengarry showed at the Victor Theatre. [4]

After a new cinema, the Wonderview Theatre, opened in Victor Harbor in December 1928 by National Pictures Limited [2] (also known as National Theatres), [5] including a modern soda fountain and "soda lounge", the Griffins built a lounge and cafe along the full length of the northern side of the theatre, extending, estimated to have cost an additional £4,000. [2] On 24 November 1926, the Griffins licensed the Victor to National Theatres [2] (aka National Pictures), [6] who operated both theatres until January 1928. [2]

On 3 February 1928, Hugh Waterman, managing director of Ozone Theatres, announced that his company had taken over National Pictures on 31 January 1928. [7] National Pictures had commenced operations on the Esplanade at Victor Harbor with the Wonderview, and had since built theatres at the Adelaide suburbs of Marryatville and Colonel Light Gardens, and later acquired the Victor Theatre from Griffin's Pictures, but was liquidated on 31 January 1928. This meant that Ozone now had ownership or leases of picture theatres in Semaphore, Port Adelaide, Alberton, Norwood, Prospect, Marryatville, Colonel Light Gardens, North Adelaide, Enfield, and Victor Harbor. Waterman said that he would be undertaking a major renovation of the Victor Theatre, including the addition of a dress circle, expanding the capacity by 350 to accommodate 1000 people. [5] [8] In March 1928, Ozone Theatres signed a contract with Jack Fewster to provide orchestras in all 10 of their theatres. [9] From June 1928, when the Wonderview ceased operations in the winter months, the Ozone became the main cinema in the town. [7]

In February 1928, Ozone Theatres screened Madame X at both the Victor and Wonderview Theatres, [10] and in May screened the 1925 film Ben Hur , starring Ramon Novarro, in both. [11] In July 1928, the Cecil B. DeMille film The King of Kings was screened at the Victor Theatre. [12]

In November 1930, Ozone installed a Western Electric sound system at a cost of £3,000, so that "talkies" could be shown at the Victor. [2]

On 14 January 1931, a serious fire damaged the rear of the theatre, leading to closure for most of the rest of the year, opening just before Christmas. During this time, it transferred some of its equipment to the Wonderview and film were screened there. [7] In 1932, Allan Woodard became manager and projectionist at the theatre. [2]

After a huge fire gutted the building on 15 January 1934, it underwent reconstruction and extension in September of that year, to designs by F. Kenneth Milne as sole practitioner. Milne re-used some footings and lower walls from the southern and eastern sides, but the rest was demolished. The theatre was substantially enlarged in height, width, and length (the latter enabled by the acquisition of property at the rear). The building cost about £15,000 to build, and seated a total of 963. It is thought to be one of the first buildings in South Australia created in the style known as streamlined, a type of Art Deco that became popular in the 1930s. [2]

On 21 December 1934 the Victor Theatre reopened as the Ozone Theatre, [13] with its vertical signage on the facade simply "Ozone". [2]

The cinema had a seating capacity of 910 at the time of its takeover by Hoyts in 1951. After the introduction of television in 1959, the cinema operated restricted opening times from 1960 onwards, and from 1963 closed during the winter. [14] [2]

In 1970 it was acquired by independent operator Roy Denison for A$25,000, who reopened it as the Victa Theatre [13] and expanded the stage area in 1975, to allow for live performances. [2] Manager Geoff Stock bought the cinema upon Denison's retirement in 1995, [13] and it was fully renovated and renamed Victa Cinema. Twin screens were created in August 1998, with the former balcony screen seating 286, and the screen in the former stalls screen seating 297. [14]

In 2005 it was bought by David and Carol Stonnill, who upgraded the building further, while retaining the Art Deco character. [13]

In November 2012, 2K digital projectors were installed in both cinemas, and a new screen downstairs. A 3D projector was added downstairs in July 2015. In late 2016 the City of Victor Harbor installed a digital projector on the other side of Ocean Street, allowing digital art to be projected onto the façade of the cinema. In October 2020 the council purchased the cinema, intending to include it in the town's Arts and Culture centre in the future. [2]

Impact and heritage listing

Milne's design had considerable impact on future new cinemas, both in modern architectural expression and with its planning for both sightlines and acoustics in the new era of talkies. More attention was also paid to concealed lighting, ventilation, and gathering spaces for patrons. [2] It was his first commission from Ozone Theatres, who had used Chris A. Smith in the 1920s, and he henceforth became their appointed architect for all South Australian projects until about 1942, when World War II led to a pause in new construction. [2]

The Victa was heritage-listed on the South Australian Heritage Register on 17 August 2023. Its entry states: [15]

The Victa Cinema (former Ozone Theatre) demonstrates the evolution of motion pictures as a new form of mass entertainment in the twentieth century, and in particular, the role of cinema-going and its contribution to community building in regional South Australia in the interwar period. As the first South Australian picture theatre purpose-built to screen "talkies", [it] established the pattern for all picture theatres that followed... [it] is an early, outstanding example of interwar streamlined architecture... [It] is also the only remaining intact picture theatre purpose-built by Ozone Theatres Limited.

In the full documentation, it states that the building "established a clear break with the past and also set the pattern for all purpose-built interwar picture theatres that followed, in terms of planning, acoustics, aesthetic expression and audience comfort. It is therefore considered to be an influential and pivotal example of the class of place". [2]

The cinema retains its Art Deco fittings. It was featured in a photographic exhibition called Now Showing... Cinema Architecture in South Australia held at the Hawke Centre's Kerry Packer Civic Gallery in April/May 2024. [16]

Location and description

The Victa Cinema is located at 37-41 Ocean St, Victor Harbor. [17] It is a two-storey brick building, with two screens and auditoriums. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Harbor, South Australia</span> City in South Australia

Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about 82 kilometres (51 mi) south of the state capital of Adelaide. The town is the largest population centre on the peninsula, with an economy based upon agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. It is a popular tourist destination, with the area's population greatly expanded during the summer holidays, usually by Adelaide locals looking to escape the summer heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rundle Mall</span> Pedestrianised shopping precinct in Adelaide, South Australia

Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 by closing the section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to vehicular traffic. The street continues as Rundle Street to the east and Hindley Street to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwood, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about 4 km (2.5 mi) east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotus Thompson</span> Australian actress

Lotus Thompson was an Australian actress of silent and sound films. Her film career began in Australia in 1921 and ended in California in 1949, during which time she appeared in 35 motion pictures. She died in California in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilton, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Hilton is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of West Torrens, for which it is the council seat.

Wallis Cinemas, formerly Wallis Theatres, is a family-owned South Australian company that operates cinema complexes in greater Adelaide and regional South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindley Street</span> Street in Adelaide

Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street and West Terrace. The street was named after Charles Hindley, a British parliamentarian and social reformist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capri Theatre</span> Heritage-listed cinema in Goodwood, Adelaide, South Australia

The Capri Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema in Goodwood, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, built in the Art Deco style in 1941. It was formerly called the New Star Theatre, Goodwood Star, New Curzon, and Cinema Capri.

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 to the designs of South Australian theatre architect Christopher Arthur Smith, it retains the features of a major renovation in Art Deco style in 1941 designed by noted cinema architect F. Kenneth Milne. It was heritage-listed on the South Australian Heritage Register in 1983. It is the oldest continuously running purpose-built cinema in Adelaide, and the only remaining silent cinema still operating in the city. It is owned by Burnside Council.

The Times, also known as The Victor Harbor Times, is a newspaper published weekly in Victor Harbor, South Australia, since August 1912. Its title has, as with most regional newspapers, undergone a series of name changes and simplifications over its history. It was later sold to Rural Press, previously owned by Fairfax Media, but now an Australian media company trading as Australian Community Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Glaciarium</span> Historic ice skating rink in Adelaide, South Australia

The Adelaide Glaciarium, located at 89–91 Hindley Street in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, was the first indoor ice-skating facility built in Australia. It is also the location of the first "hockey on the ice" match in the country, which was an adaptation of roller polo for the ice using ice skates. Contemporary ice hockey was never played at this venue but this ice skating rink, the country's first, provided the "test bed" facility for its successor, the Melbourne Glaciarium, the birthplace of ice hockey in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semaphore Library</span> Heritage listed public library in South Australia

The Semaphore Library is a public library in Semaphore, South Australia. It was formerly the Semaphore Institute, Semaphore Town Hall, Ozone Theatre, and Semaphore Cinema, and is heritage-listed on both the state and national registers.

Christopher Arthur Smith, also known as Chris Smith and Chris A. Smith, was a South Australian architect. He was a prolific designer of picture theatres and public buildings in Adelaide and regional South Australia during the 1920s and 1930s, and is recognised as one of the leading South Australian exponents of the Art Deco style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Edward Theatre (Sydney)</span>

Prince Edward Theatre was a picture theatre on Elizabeth and Castlereagh streets, Sydney, erected for the Carroll-Musgrove partnership of Harry G. Musgrove and brothers Edward and Dan Carroll) with financial backing from George Marlow in 1923. Architects were Robertson & Marks, with technical assistance from Thomas W. Lamb, the American picture theatre designer.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Clifford (theatre entrepreneur)</span> South Australian cinema entrepreneur

Dan Clifford was a well-known cinema entrepreneur and philanthropist in South Australia. He was also a keen promoter of the cinema industry, and owned 20 cinemas across the state at the time of his death, including several in Art Deco style, such as the Piccadilly Theatre and the Goodwood Star.

Ozone Theatres Ltd, formerly Ozone Picture Company and then Ozone Amusements Ltd, was a cinema chain based in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1911 until 1951, when it sold its theatres to Hoyts. It was founded by Hugh Waterman and friends, and was jointly run by him and seven sons, including Clyde Waterman and Sir Ewen McIntyre Waterman. S.A. Theatres and Ozone Theatres were subsidiary companies, and the chain was referred to as the Ozone circuit. It was one of two major film exhibitors in the state from after World War I until the late 1940s, the other being D. Clifford Theatres Limited. After 1938, Ozone dominated the market.

Wondergraph, Wondergraph Theatre and variations were names given first to a technology, and then to picture theatres run first by the Continental Wondergraph Company ; and then, in Adelaide, South Australia, by the Wondergraph Company (1910–1911), and then the Greater Wondergraph Company, established around 1911 and in existence until 1939.

The Odeon Star Semaphore Cinemas, usually referred to as the Odeon Star, is an independent multiplex cinema in the beachside Adelaide suburb of Semaphore, South Australia. It is the oldest purpose-built cinema in Adelaide, opened on 22 May 1920 as the Wondergraph Picture Palace.

Frank Kenneth Milne, usually referred to as F. Kenneth Milne, was an Australian architect based in Adelaide, South Australia. He was regarded as one of the leading architects in the state in 1920, and continued to design buildings even in retirement. He went into partnership with a series of other architects over the course of his career, including John Richard Schomburgk Evans, Charles Alexander Russell, and Rolfe Vernon Boehm. He is also known for his work as a cinema architect, having been the appointed architect for Ozone Theatres in the 1930s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Opening of Victor Theatre". The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot . Vol. XII, no. 586. South Australia. 30 November 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 South Australian Heritage Council (25 November 2022). "Summary of state heritage place: Victa Cinema (former Ozone Theatre)" (PDF).
  3. 1 2 "Opening of Victor Theatre". Southern Argus . Vol. LXIX, no. 3, 929. South Australia. 6 December 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Advertising". The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot . Vol. XII, no. 586. South Australia. 30 November 1923. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  5. 1 2 "Ozone Amusements Limited". The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot . Vol. XVI, no. 804. South Australia. 3 February 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "National Pictures". News (Adelaide) . Vol. X, no. 1, 419. South Australia. 31 January 1928. p. 2 (Home edition). Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  7. 1 2 3 "Wonderview Theatre, Victor Harbour". Encyclopaedia of Australian Theatre Organs. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "National Pictures". News (Adelaide) . Vol. X, no. 1, 419. South Australia. 31 January 1928. p. 2 (Home edition). Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "Ozone Theatres". News (Adelaide) . Vol. X, no. 1, 463. South Australia. 22 March 1928. p. 19 (Home Edition). Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "Advertising". The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot . Vol. XVI, no. 805. South Australia. 10 February 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "Advertising". The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot . Vol. XVI, no. 820. South Australia. 25 May 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Ozone Theatres. Victor Harbour". The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot . Vol. XVI, no. 827. South Australia. 13 July 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "History". Victa Cinema. 24 November 1923. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  14. 1 2 Roe, Ken. "Victa Cinema in Victor Harbor, AU". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  15. ↑ "Ngarrindjeri Country, 37-41 Ocean Street VICTOR HARBOR". The South Australia Heritage Places database. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  16. ↑ Meegan, Genevieve (19 April 2024). "'Now showing' – celebrating Adelaide's cinema heyday". InReview . Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  17. ↑ "Home". Victa Cinema. Retrieved 1 May 2024.

35°33′15″S138°37′22″E / 35.55424°S 138.62275°E / -35.55424; 138.62275

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.