Windsor Cinema
Encyclopedia
The Windsor Cinema is located at 98 Stirling Highway
, Nedlands, Western Australia
. It is an Art Deco
cinema
designed by the architect William T. Leighton
and constructed in 1937. It is currently owned by Luna Palace Cinemas.
The cinema shared a bio-box with the picture gardens, similar to the Cygnet Cinema
in South Perth
. This was a world first design for architect, William T. Leighton
, who developed the concept of a projecting wing to the main bio-box which when coupled with a trolley rail system enabled the movie projectors to be quickly rolled from the internal to the external garden projection ports and vice versa.
The theatre was operated by Vince Lucus until it was taken over by Independent Film Distributors. The gardens did not survive the introduction of television, and closed in 1968. Extensive renovations were done to the cinema, with the last remnants of the picture garden being demolished in 1988. The cinema survived the introduction of television by becoming an 'art house' venue. The Windsor was the first cinema to screen subtitled films in Perth.
Sometime during the 1970's, a fire struck the cinema. The cinema was restored, but closed on September 24 1983. The venue was purchased by Roger and Chrissie Hunt & Cyril Watson. They built a second indoor cinema where the gardens used to be, and re-opened the cinema in November 1988. The new 'twin' cinema has a capacity to seat 210 people and the old auditorium has seating arrangements for 500 people. In 1997, the cinema was air-conditioned.
In November 2005 the Windsor Cinema became part of the Luna Palace group, following a leasing agreement between the owners and Luna Palace management.
There has been many changes to the building both externally and internally since its construction in 1937. These include the removal of the picture gardens and replacement with a second modern cinema and car parking, removal of the original candy bar, ticket box and booking office, modernisation of the toilets, demolition of old street canopy, new foyer ceiling, modifications to the projection room and bio-box balcony and the installation of new seating throughout the auditorium.
in 1995 as not meeting the threshold criteria.
Stirling Highway
Stirling Highway is, for most of its length, a four-lane single carriageway and major arterial road between Perth, Western Australia and the port city of Fremantle in Western Australia on the northern side of the Swan River. The speed limit is 60 km/h...
, Nedlands, Western Australia
Nedlands, Western Australia
The City of Nedlands is a Local Government Area in the inner western suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about west of Perth's central business district...
. It is an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
designed by the architect William T. Leighton
William T. Leighton
William Thomas Leighton was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings....
and constructed in 1937. It is currently owned by Luna Palace Cinemas.
History
The Windsor Theatre was built in 1937 by W.H Ralph and Sons for E.P Nelson of Claremont District Pictures. It was constructed in brick with rendered and plastered finishes externally and internally. The Windsor Cinema is typical of a number of Australian cinemas built during the 1930s-40s, although the inclusion of a movable projector which could be used to screen films into the adjacent picture garden was unique at its time. It was officially opened on 10 September, 1937 by the Chairman of the Nedlands Road Board, Mr. Bennett. The theatre had a seating capacity of at least 800, the largest in the district at the time.The cinema shared a bio-box with the picture gardens, similar to the Cygnet Cinema
Cygnet Cinema
Cygnet Cinema is located at 16 Preston Street, Como, Western Australia. It was the first purpose built sound cinema in the suburbs immediately south of the city in the inter-war period. The Cygnet Cinema opened in 1938 and was built by local identity and film entrepreneur James Stiles...
in South Perth
South Perth, Western Australia
South Perth is a residential suburb 3 kilometres south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, which adjoins the southern shore of Perth Water on the Swan River...
. This was a world first design for architect, William T. Leighton
William T. Leighton
William Thomas Leighton was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings....
, who developed the concept of a projecting wing to the main bio-box which when coupled with a trolley rail system enabled the movie projectors to be quickly rolled from the internal to the external garden projection ports and vice versa.
The theatre was operated by Vince Lucus until it was taken over by Independent Film Distributors. The gardens did not survive the introduction of television, and closed in 1968. Extensive renovations were done to the cinema, with the last remnants of the picture garden being demolished in 1988. The cinema survived the introduction of television by becoming an 'art house' venue. The Windsor was the first cinema to screen subtitled films in Perth.
Sometime during the 1970's, a fire struck the cinema. The cinema was restored, but closed on September 24 1983. The venue was purchased by Roger and Chrissie Hunt & Cyril Watson. They built a second indoor cinema where the gardens used to be, and re-opened the cinema in November 1988. The new 'twin' cinema has a capacity to seat 210 people and the old auditorium has seating arrangements for 500 people. In 1997, the cinema was air-conditioned.
In November 2005 the Windsor Cinema became part of the Luna Palace group, following a leasing agreement between the owners and Luna Palace management.
Architectural character
The Windsor Cinema is an example of Inter-War Functionalist architectural design. The functionalist characteristics of the cinema include the use of decorative elements that serve no particular function, horizontal and straight lines (often three in parallel), roofs concelaed behind parapets, steel and reinforced concrete used to achieve wide spans and the asymmeterical massing of simple geometric shapes. A Nautical Moderne design aspect is seen in the steel balustrading, which reflects the influence of elements associated with ocean liners.There has been many changes to the building both externally and internally since its construction in 1937. These include the removal of the picture gardens and replacement with a second modern cinema and car parking, removal of the original candy bar, ticket box and booking office, modernisation of the toilets, demolition of old street canopy, new foyer ceiling, modifications to the projection room and bio-box balcony and the installation of new seating throughout the auditorium.
Heritage value
The Windsor Cinema was classified by the National Trust (WA) on 3 December, 1990. The building is also included on the City of Nedlands' Municipal Heritage Inventory although it is not listed on the State Register of Heritage Places, having been determined by the Heritage Council of Western AustraliaHeritage Council of Western Australia
The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...
in 1995 as not meeting the threshold criteria.
Further reading
- A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present Apperly, R., Irving, R. and Reynolds (1989) North Ryde, Angus and Robertson
- Perth: A Cinema History Bell, M.D (1986) Sussex, Book Guild
- Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia Geneve, V. `William Thomas LeightonWilliam T. LeightonWilliam Thomas Leighton was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings....
: Cinema Architect of the 1930s` in Bromfield, D. (ed.) 1988, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands