Download Heritage Citation Report - Star Cinema

Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
Heritage Citation Report
Name
Star Cinema
Address
40 Julia Street, Portland
Place Type
Commercial
Citation Date
31 May 2016
Heritage listings
None
Recommended heritage protection
Glenelg Shire Planning Scheme (PS) Heritage Overlay (HO)
Figure 1 : Star Cinema, view to the north
Place Name
Hermes No XXXX
Place Citation Report
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Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
Figure 2 : Proposed HO extent
History and historical context
In the 1920s and 1930s going to the theatre became a popular form of entertainment. Theatres were found in all
cities and towns and ticket prices were low (Skwirk Online Education 2016).
The Star Cinema (formerly the Star Theatre) was planned for the centre of Portland and by January 1937 work
was progressing on the theatre construction with Portland Star Pictures Pty Ltd undertaking the work. Farr’s
livery stables were demolished to clear the site for construction. The building materials were to be Mount
Gambier stone lining a brick facing, and the building was to include stalls, balcony, a large stage at the northern
end, a projection room at the rear of the dress circle, and a kiosk in the front section of the building. The
construction was estimated to cost £10,000 (Portland Guardian, 7 January 1937, 11 October 1937). The Star
Theatre architect was G S Richards (of PS and GS Richards) and the builder was TS Coleman (Portland
Guardian, 11 October 1937). Geoffrey S Richards was a Ballarat architect and was the son of Percy S Richards,
who was Ballarat’s premier Federation architect. Geoffrey was in partnership with his father from some time
prior to World War I until 1939, when Percy retired. However, Geoffrey was called to duty in World War II and
did not return until 1946. Geoffrey retired in 1966 (Livingston et al. 2001: 78).
The near complete theatre was described as follows:
‘On walking in, I saw on my left that space had been marked off for quite a large office, while on my right
were several small rooms for various purposes, such as switchboard controls, stores etc. Beyond these
rooms was the side entrance to the confectionery shop…
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Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
Two doors, one on each side, beneath the gallery, admit one to the front and back stalls. To reach the
gallery we turned to the right and ascended a flight of solid concrete steps. This dress circle gallery is very
fine and spacious, being no less than 60 feet by 33 feet, and rising tier on tier up to the front of the
projection cabin, and designed to accommodate 305 persons. No seats were as yet installed, but I was told
the chairs will be most luxurious, being upholstered in rubber with tapestry covers. From the dress circle
there is a capital view of the stage, and in fact of the whole body of the theatre, except of course that
portion immediately beneath the gallery. From this vantage point one realises that the Star Picture Theatre
is of the type known as ‘intimate’. This name is derived from the fact that in this type of building the
audience is now close to, and so more ‘intimate’ with the players on the stage than was possible in the
older style of theatre. For ‘Talkies’ especially this square type of auditorium has a very obvious advantage
in regard to sound, the whole of the audience being brought within reasonable hearing distance of the
screen.
Looking up one sees the large modern ventilators placed at intervals across the ceiling, which is bordered
with long bluish boxlike fixtures behind which are rows of lights.
…up a few more steps, through a bright red door, into the projection cabins. This is quite a large fireproof
room, all steel and concrete. This most important room will be furnished with…a special lantern for showing
advertising slides, and a massive machine full of wheels by means of which the whole of the lights, or any
special section of them, can be dimmed to any degree desired…the illuminations will be mostly of the kind
known as indirect, thus avoiding the glare inseparable from ordinary or direct lighting. The very large and
varied number of lights has necessitated a tremendous length of wire – indeed there is over seven miles of
it tucked away out of sight. On the east side of this operating cabin is a commodious workroom.
Behind the gallery is the spacious dress circle foyer, or lounge. There is a fireplace in the centre of the
back wall in which a gas fire will be placed for winter seating. At the west end of the foyer are ladies’ toilets
and retiring rooms. Here under the dress circle, the floor has a slope of about one in ten…the prevailing
colour scheme is a pleasing creamy tint, relieved by broad bands of deep crimson, and a tapestry plaster
dado running around the walls. The front of the stage is of figured walnut. Coloured lights are so disposed
both above, below and at the sides, that the whole stage can be strongly illumined with a soft rich glow of
light. To the left of the stage is a fair-sized dressing room…’ (Portland Guardian, 11 October 1937)
Acoustical fibre was placed under the roof, and over all walls for soundproofing and the theatre held 890 people.
It initially had ‘a blazing star and brilliant neon sign’ at night time and was opened on 27 October 1937 under the
Managing Director ENT Henry (Portland Guardian, 11 October 1937; Bennett 1993:43). In 1979 the cinema was
converted into a single level venue and reopened including only the circle area. The lower level was used to
house shops. The cinema closed in 2011 (Cinema and Theatre Historical Society of Australia Inc 2016). The
cinema is currently being used by the Southwest Community Church.
Relevant Historical Australian Themes
8 Developing Australia’s cultural life
8.5.4 Pursuing common leisure interests
8.14 Living in the country and rural settlements
Description
Physical description
The Star Cinema (formerly the Star Theatre) was constructed in the Interwar Period (c.1919-c.1940) Moderne
style. The building was originally constructed of brick and stone. The symmetrical and simple façade has been
rendered and has a small number of windows incorporated into a strong horizontal banded design. The main
doors/entranceway are located in the centre. A vertical name sign, featuring ‘Star Cinema’ is located in the
centre, above the door. There are some doors on the left of the building however it is unknown if these were an
original feature of the building.
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Internally, the cinema contains Moderne-styled features such as wooden and banded handrails on the
staircases (Figure 3), timber-work railings, ornate ceilings (Figure 4) and air vents (Figure 5). Recent
modifications include a false floor constructed to form two separate floors. The basement has a new ceiling and
modern brick walls.
Figure 3 : Detail of timber work railings on staircase.
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Figure 4 : Detail of ceilings inside the cinema
Figure 5 : Detail of air vents inside cinema
Physical condition
Good
Usage/Former usage
Church, retail shops, cinema
Theatre
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Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
Recommended management
Maintain generally as existing?
Sympathetic reinstatement of original laneway entrance
Comparative analysis
VHR H2230/HO61 Lorne Cinema, 76-80 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, Surf Coast Shire Council
The Lorne Cinema was constructed in 1937 and opened the same year in a central and prominent location in
the popular seaside resort. It has operated continuously as a cinema since that time. It was opened by the
Lorne Picture Theatre Company, which was established as early as 1915 by Lorne residents, including
photographer Albert Jarratt.
The two storey rendered concrete facade is Art Deco in style. The plain symmetrical upper facade is divided
vertically into five sections with the central protruding bay incorporating a vertical name sign, flanking recessed
panels with vertical members or windows, and a parapet composed of horizontal strips above. The flanking side
bays are recessed at the corner of the building and are devoid of decoration except for a small window low on
the facade and a horizontal decorative motif above. Shops flank the central theatre entrance.
The simple Art Deco interior of the building retains a high degree of integrity. Original finishes include terrazzo
floors, geometrically patterned ceiling panels, simple metal balustrading and carpets, and fixtures such as
seating and lighting.
The Lorne Cinema is of architectural significance as a modest example of a purpose-built theatre in the Art
Deco style. It is a rare example of a cinema that retains the single screen format and of the Moderne style used
in a rural location. The high degree of integrity of the interior and exterior of the Lorne Cinema demonstrates its
continuous use as a cinema and the characteristics of this type of place.
The Lorne Cinema is of historical significance for its association with the development of one of Victoria's
premier seaside resorts, particularly after the opening of the Great Ocean Road in 1932 and for its association
with a major form of popular entertainment in the twentieth century. It reflects the popularity of this form of
entertainment in country Victoria from the late 1930s to the 1950s.
VHR H0679/HO23 Sun Theatre, 6-12 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, Maribyrnong City Council
The Sun Theatre, Yarraville, which opened in 1938 was the fourth cinema built for the promoter EC Yeomans.
The building was designed by architects Cowper, Murphy and Appleford. The streamlined Moderne facade of
the theatre with its elaborate sun motif is its most striking and original external feature. At night the front
elevation was illuminated by sodium tube flood lighting with the tower surmounted by a flashing sun in red and
gold. Neon light illuminated the name of the theatre in cut cement letters at the top. The interior of the cinema is
also significant.
The Sun Theatre was the first Melbourne cinema to be built with a floor parabolic in the shape where the
elevated seats are approached from a separate foyer entrance. The auditorium comprised an ornate ceiling with
a honeycomb diamond of diffused interior lighting. A large foyer contained the usual ticket box and reservation
office, a terrazzo floor in different tones of red, green and black with the theatre insignia inscribed in brass
strips.
The Sun Theatre remains one of the few fully articulated (internally and externally) Moderne style cinemas to
remain in Victoria. Built as a consciously modern attraction for citizens of the western suburbs, the Sun Theatre
is also a legacy of a form of social entertainment that reached a peak in the 1930s and 40s. The cinema played
an important role in the community life of the district and was an important landmark for the Yarraville district.
The cinema is also of interest as one of the few to remain in private hands until the Yeomans family sold it in the
1960s.
Place Name
Hermes No XXXX
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Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
VHR H1751/HO83 The Astor Theatre, 1-9 Chapel Street, St Kilda, Port Phillip City Council
The Astor Theatre, designed by architect Ron Morton Taylor, was built by the contractors Clements Langford in
1935-36. It was officially opened on 3 April 1936 at a ceremony attended by the mayor and councillors of St
Kilda and a large number of invited guests. The theatre is in the Jazz Moderne style with distinctive brickwork on
the facade in cream and dark brown. Its facade includes a stepped parapet wall, a projecting bay flanked by
three large recessed panels with casement windows, and a cantilevered awning with pressed metal ceiling. The
projecting bay features an eight point star in bas relief with an illuminated neon sign and flanked by 12
illuminated, ascending stars. Beneath the theatre awning are four shopfronts and the theatre entrance. The side
walls are red brick and the roof is corrugated iron.
The Astor Theatre is architecturally significant as a highly intact, rare survivor of a Jazz Moderne, or Art Deco,
style cinema. The Art Deco style was the predominant design of cinemas during the 1930s, but the Astor is one
of only a small group of intact cinemas surviving from this period. It is also one of the earliest and most
important examples of the suburban Art Deco cinemas. The exterior is relatively restrained in its decorative
treatment, featuring distinctive brickwork, a stepped parapet and a neon sign. The interior includes important
decorative details such as the entrance foyer with its terrazzo floor, staircase with wrought iron balustrade and
polished timber handrail, and the distinctive spatial sequence of the foyers with the elliptical open well with fine
chevron pattern friezes in wrought iron linking the ground floor foyer with the upstairs foyer, tiered ceilings, and
characteristic Jazz Moderne foyer and auditorium decoration. It is a fine example of the work of the architect
Ron Morton Taylor who had been a partner in the prominent firm of cinema architects Bohringer, Taylor and
Johnson, responsible for the design of the State Theatre, in Flinders Street, Melbourne. 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 Interwar years when cinema-going reached its peak.
The use of the theatre for Greek language films from 1969 until 1982 has associations with an important aspect
of post-war life and demonstrates the impact of migration on Australian society. The Astor Theatre is of
historical and scientific significance for its collection of fixtures, fittings and movable objects which assist in an
understanding of the history and development of film technology, including the original screen threaded on its
frame still in situ, a 1929 Western Electric amplifier, original projector and original lighting rack.
VHR H2144/HO619 Theatre Royal, 30-32 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine, Mount Alexander Shire Council
Castlemaine's Theatre Royal was built in 1858 to replace the first canvas and timber Theatre Royal which burnt
down in 1857. Local residents raised a public loan to enable the lessees Messrs Rainer and Gingell to rebuild
the theatre. The result was a more substantial building constructed of random coursed local sandstone and
brick with a roof of Morewood and Rogers galvanised iron tiles. The new theatre had a capacity for 225 people
in the stalls and 675 in the 'Pit'. The front section of the building housed a hotel known as the Royal Hotel which
closed in 1910 after a hearing before the Licences Reduction Board. The theatre continued and adapted
through various stages as a bioscope and picture theatre from the early twentieth century.
Extensive alterations took place in 1938-39 to convert the theatre into a cinema with a stalls area and dress
circle accommodating 972 patrons. The building's facade was rendered and given a Moderne styling
characterised by strong horizontal bands, a stepped parapet and glazed decorative tiles to wall surfaces
beneath the awning. The 1930s Moderne-inspired detailing extends throughout the building's interior. The key
elements are the oak stair, 1930s light fittings, exit signs, and the fluted pilasters and patterned friezes on the
walls and ceiling of the auditorium. From the early 1980s the building was also used as a discothèque, theatre,
live music venue and theatre restaurant, as well as a cinema. Sections of nineteenth century decorative
schemes including wallpaper survive on interior walls hidden by later accretions. The building continues to
operate as a cinema.
Theatre Royal, Castlemaine is of historical and social significance for its long and continuous associations with
popular forms of mass entertainment since the mid-nineteenth century. As a goldfields theatre and later as a
cinema, it has been highly valued by members of the community as central to the social and cultural life of the
area.
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Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
Summary
The comparative analysis indicates that surviving Moderne style cinemas are not particularly common in
Victoria. Of the examples that do survive, several share similar design elements with the Star Cinema, such as
symmetrical and simple façade characterised by horizontal design features, ornate ceilings and fixtures, and
wooden stairwell railings.
Statement of significance
What is significant?
Significant elements of the Star Cinema include:

Prominently located within the centre of Portland township and within the historical area

External Moderne features including symmetrical façade with characteristic horizontal banded design

Internal features such as timber work railings, ornate ceiling and air vents

Importance of the building in reflecting a period of history where theatres/cinemas were a very popular and
affordable form of entertainment
How is it significant?
The Star Cinema is of historical significance (HERCON criterion A), is rare (HERCON criterion B), and has
aesthetic significance (HERCON criterion E).
Why is it significant?
The Star Cinema is of historical significance as it demonstrates a period in history when cinema was very
popular and a large proportion of the population went to the cinema for entertainment. Many towns in regional
Victoria had a local cinema and it represented a social focal point for the town at that period in time.
The Star Cinema is rare in Victoria as it is one of only several remaining cinemas that were designed in the
Moderne architectural style in a rural town, the features of which are evident on the cinema façade and inside
the cinema.
The Star Cinema is of aesthetic significance for its Moderne architectural style. Although there have been some
modifications to the cinema, the building still retains elements of this style both internally and externally. The
symmetrical façade displays Moderne characteristics and the cinema is located within the historical precinct of
Portland, thus contributing to the overall aesthetic quality of the area.
Recommended Controls (2016)
External Paint Controls
Yes
Internal Alteration Controls
Yes
Tree Controls
No
Fences & Outbuildings
No
Prohibited Uses May Be Permitted
No
Incorporated Plan
No
Aboriginal Heritage Place
No
References
Bennett, G. 1993. Portland Now and Then. A Guide to Portland’s Historic Buildings. Gwen Bennett, Portland.
Place Name
Hermes No XXXX
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Heritage Citation Report – Star Cinema
Cinema and Theatre Historical Society of Australia Inc. 2016. Venues Database via email 17th December 2015.
Livingston, KT, R Jordan, and G Sweely. 2001. Becoming Australians: The Movement Towards Federation in
Ballarat and the Nation. University of Ballarat, Australian Studies Centre.
Skwirk Online Education. 2016. Australia between the wars: 1920s – an event in the 1920s - Talkies,
http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-43_t-52_c-156/talkies/nsw/talkies/australia-between-the-wars-1920s/anevent-in-the-1920s - accessed 1 June 2016.
Newspapers
Portland Guardian, Portland, Victoria, 1876-1953
This information is provided for guidance only and does not supersede official
documents, particularly the planning scheme. Planning controls should be
verified by checking the relevant municipal planning scheme.
Place Name
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