A Small Project on Australian Cinemas

A small project on Australian cinemas stems from a curiosity and appreciation for 1930's cinema architecture. The era of these buildings has gone, but many of the buildings still remain in Australia's cities and towns - though now disappearing at a fast pace. This project document's a small sample of these buildings that housed the special occasion that going to the picture palace once was. At that time, the event of going to the cinema was not only about the image projected on the screen, but also an engagement with the building in which the film was shown, an engagement that was to transport the patron to another world; separated from the realism and drudgery of daily life they found themselves in a splendid and out-of-the-ordinary environment in which to escape for a few hours. The buildings photographed stand in varying conditions and some no longer operate even as cinemas, however, each façade is embedded with a glamorous memory of the silver-screen.

See parts 1-3 of the project below.

A Small Project on Australian Cinemas: Part Three

Capri Theater, Adelaide. Still in use as a cinema


Glenelg Cinema Center, Adelaide. No longer in use as a cinema


Westgarth Theater, Melbourne. Still in use as a cinema


Coburg Drive-in, Melbourne. Still in use as a cinema

A Small Project on Australian Cinemas: Part Two

Rivolio, Melbourne, Victoria. Still in use as a cinema



Palais Theater, Melbourne, Victoria. No longer in use as a cinema



Palace Brighton Bay, Melbourne. Still in use as a cinema



The Astor, Melbourne. Still in use as a cinema

A Small Project on Australian Cinemas: Part One

Theater Royal, Castlemaine, Victoria. Still in use as a cinema



The Palais, Hepburn Springs, Victoria. No longer in use as a cinema



The Rex, Daylesford, Victoria. No longer in use as a cinema



Alpha Hall, Daylesford, Victoria. No longer in use as a cinema