MAJESTIC/PLAZA/PARIS
656 Hay St, Perth
MAJESTIC
P.A (Paddy) Connolly owned the Grand (later the Perth) Hotel,
and there is an industry legend about his early involvement with films: Dennis
Dease is said to have screened from the balcony of his hotel across Barrack St
to a screen mounted on the wall of a shop opposite, till the police were called
in to control the traffic jam which resulted, and Dease found himself in court
on a charge of obstructing traffic (Weekend Magazine, 21 May 1966,
pp.21-23).
I have been unable to confirm this story, but Connolly
certainly became actively interested in the film business when a syndicate he
headed built the Majestic Theatres, in Perth and Fremantle. They were in direct
competition with the other cinemas opened during the First World War - the
Palladiums (Perth and Fremantle), the Britannia, the Pavilion and the Grand.
Like them, the Perth Majestic had a policy of cheap admissions and continuous
programming. It opened on 21 December 1916, with accommodation for nearly one
thousand people.
The auditorium will be furnished with the latest and most
comfortable leather tip-up seats, and similar seats are provided in the gallery,
but upholstered in Utrecht velvet. The proscenium is very fine, being specially
moulded in fibrous plaster, with a striking ornamental mounting. The balcony
front is also figured out in fibrous plaster, is most imposing, and forms a most
artistic decoration. The whole of the ceilings are covered with Wunderlich
metal, picked out in pleasing designs and charmingly painted. The vestibule is
very lofty and commodious, and the lounge upstairs is roomy and bright and
tastefully furnished. The operating cabin is built of brick and cement, and
absolutely fireproof, and the very latest and improved biograph machines will,
it is stated, be installed, reducing the risk to a minimum. Mirrors abound on
the walls, vestibule and landings, and nickel-plated rails give the interior a
very bright effect. The building is well-ventilated, and, in addition to a large
number of oscillating fans, there are two very large sliding roofs, one over the
auditorium and one over the gallery, which should make the building cool on the
very hottest days and nights. The premises will be brilliantly lit with electric
lights within and without. (West Australian, 9 December 1916)
On 27 July 1918 the cinema was taken over by J.C.Williamsons
and in 1927, it became part of the Hoyts chain. Sound was installed in 1930 (it
was the last of the city cinemas to join the trend), and in 1932 it became part
of the General Theatres group when Hoyts and Union Theatres temporarily
amalgamated.
In later years, a popular feature of the cinema were the
working models constructed by R.W.(Dick) Burch for the foyer to advertise new
programmes, bringing children in particular to gawp at the display.
PLAZA/PARIS
Hoyts' main city cinemas in the decade from their entry to the
Perth scene in 1927 were the Majestic and the Regent. In 1937 the Majestic was
demolished and a new, modern arcade was erected on the site, with shops on the
street level and a cinema seating 1,313 - the Plaza - above. Shortly after,
Hoyts relinquished the lease on the Regent, which became the Metro, so the Plaza
took on the role of flagship for the company in Western Australia.
Architecture historian Ross Thorne describes it
thus:
The facade to Hay St had a symbolic skyscraper effect. There
were tall strips of windows; the centre third was taller than and projected from
the remainder. Stepping from the centre of this central bay was the vertical
sign which projected above the roof and curved back and down into the modern
ziggurat roof form.
The auditorium was rather simple in fibrous plaster, striated
lines and straight ceiling coves accentuated the long dimension of the
room.
The slightly lower sections each side of the ceiling, as well
as incorporating indirect lighting coves to wash light across upper ceiling
levels and down the walls, probably boxed in the airconditioning ducts. (Ross
Thorne, Cinemas of Australia via USA, p.274)
Further renovations, including the refurbishing of the
interior and the installation of a Todd-AO sound system, were completed before
the opening of South Pacific in 1960, which established a new long-run
record for Perth of 45 weeks. The seating capacity of the theatre was reduced to
less than one thousand in 1961.
On 17 August, 1965 the theatre closed, and re-opened two days
later as the Paris. There were no major structural alterations this time, though
later that year the entrance was resited in the Plaza Arcade. It was finally
closed permanently in 1984, and the building was later converted into a
disco.
In 1997 the cinema was derelict: the owners leased its
entrances and exits for conversion into shops in the arcade, and access to the
unused auditorium was only through a rear entrance on the laneway.
Sources:
Building permits, Battye 1459, Folio 2
Max D. Bell, Perth: a cinema history, The Book Guild, Lews, Sussex, 1986,
pp.83,89-90
Vyonne Geneve, ´William Leighton, architect', Kino, no.25, September
1988, pp.7-15
Vyonne Geneve, ´The vulnerability of our Art Deco theatres', Kino,
no.28, June 1989, pp.6-8
Vyonne Geneve, Significant buildings of the 1930s in Western Australia, Vyonne
Geneve, June 1994, National Trust of Australia (WA)/ National Estate Grants
Programme, vol.1
Stage, Screen and Stars, West Australian, n.d. (1997?), pp.22, 41
Ross Thorne, Cinemas of Australia via USA, p.274
Everyone's, 29 January 1930, p.18
Post Office Directory, 1917 - 1971
West Australian, 9 December 1916, 22 December 1916, 14 October 1960, 10
August 1961, 25 October 1965, 1916 - 1984
Interviews (Ina Bertrand & Bill Turner): Ray Cooper (1981)John Pye
(1981)
Interviews (Ina Bertrand): Ken Booth (1981), Arthur Stiles (1985)
Photos:
1 exterior (Majestic), b&w, 1922, Battye 3187 11816P
2 exteriors (Majestic), b&w, 1936, West Australian, nos 1662/1753
1 interior, b&w, Ross Thorne, Cinemas of Australia via USA, p.274
1 exterior (Paris & Savoy), colour, 1981 (Bill Turner) Link to image
1 exterior (Plaza), b&w, 1988, Kino, no.28, p.10 (Vyonne Geneve)
1 exterior (Plaza), b&w, undated, Wolanski collection ACTS, Kino
no.72, Winter 2000, p.24
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