Two Kent Cinema Delights

I came across two lovely little cinemas last weekend when visiting Deal, Kent.

The Empire, Sandwich

The Empire

The Empire

The New Empire in Sandwich originally opened on 26th June 1937, operating as a cinema until the 1960s, then like many old cinemas, became a bingo hall for a number of years before been closed down completely (with a brief spell as a snooker club). In 1993 the Empire reopened as a cinema and continues to date to have daily screenings.

The Regent, Deal

The Regent

The Regent cinema in Deal started operating as a cinema on the 13th July 1933, having previously been a theatre (The Pavilion Theatre, Opened: 1928). Again in the 1960s the cinema closed down and it became a bingo hall that operated until 2009. The building currently stands vacant, however, there are plans afoot to turn it back into a cinema again in the near future.

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

A stop off before Les Rencontres d'Arles

Unité d’Habitation le Courbusier, Marseille
7th July 2009.

Le Courbusier proposed the house should be a machine for living in.