Sydney Art Deco Heritage

The Enmore Theatre located at 118-132 Enmore Road in Enmore was originally built in 1908 by the Szarka brothers and opened to the public as a photo-play theatre in 1912. Major improvements were done in 1920 both inside and out. Hoyts purchased the building in 1936 from the Szarka brothers and did extensive modifications to the building and it emerged as a "large Art Deco show palace". The Enmore Theatre is classified by the National Trust and is listed in the Historic Buildings Register of the Australian Institute of Architects. Facade detail Sources: Sydney Heritage Listings Century Venues Information

The Malachi Gilmore Hall in Oberon Street in Oberon is a fine art deco building that was designed by Italian architect Virgil Cizzio (who changed his surname to Renshaw) and was opened in 1937. It was known as the Magna Theatre. A striking feature of the hall is the use of glass bricks. It was built on land donated to the Catholic church in memory of Malachi Gilmore who had come to Oberon in 1872 and owned land in Oberon and the Duckmaloi area. It was originally built as a dance hall cinema, seating 310 people but has also been a cabaret venue, a skating rink and is currently a wool store. The building was listed on the State Heritage Register in November 2003 and is also listed in the RAIA Register of significant 20th Century Buildings. Glass brick wall of the building First storey detail Sources: Oberon History Archive

The Theatre Royal at 667-669 Hunter Street in Newcastle is one of the few remaining 1930s cinemas in the Art Deco / Moderne style with the original interior features surviving in relatively good condition. The Theatre Royal has many key features and fixtures that exemplify the Art Deco / Moderne style and era, in particular its interior wall detailing and staircase railings. These can be appreciated in the photos below of the interior of the theatre. The unique pink interior of the upstairs lounge has survived remarably well for its age. The Theatre Royal is also the only remaining cinema in Australia designed by Charles Bohringer, a well-known practitioner of the Art Deco style. It was redesigned and rebuilt by Bohringer in the classic Art Deco style and re-opened to the public in 1939. Original stair railing still look fantastic such a long time. Unfortunately staircase can be the firt item to be ditched in a *modern* renovation. Sources: realc

The Penthouse cinema is a gem of a building is located in the New Zealand city of Wellington at 205 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn and is a good example of a classic Art Deco style theatre from the 1930's. Constructed for the Ranish family the cinema opened its doors on 15th June 1939 as the Vogue Theatre. The Ranish family ran the cinema until 1951, when the Vogue Company Limited took over. The Vogue Company turned the cinema into a television studio where TV commercials were shot for many years. Renamed the Penthouse The building was renamed the Penthouse Cinema when it was bought by Merv and Carol Kisby in 1975. Since then additional screens have been added, as well as refurbishment of the interior in keeping with its original style. The classic Art Deco style has been recreated in the Penthouse foyer where, in particular, the staircase bannister is quite simple but exudes the charm of the style. View of the foyer *note the simple and elegant lines of the staircase going u

This Art Deco building is used as a funeral home and is located at 37 Mann Street in Gosford. Funeral Directors R. H. Creighton built the Art Deco building in 1938 to a design in the Art Deco style by architect F. Vanderwyck Snr. The Creighton’s family business was known in the area since 1844 and was involved in building and demolition work before becoming funeral directors in 1872. Six generations of the Creighton family practiced locally under the business name. The existing building is mainly of cement-rendered brick, with foundations of local sandstone. Being constructed on a steep site the building diminishes quickly from the front facade. There are some interesting windows along this side of the building which sit on a prominant sandstone retaining wall which blends well with the rest of the building. The Creighton family has had associations with the Gosford district going back as far as 1844. Originally primarily employed as carpenters, the Creighton clan apparently move

The Commonwealth Bank Earlwood was located at 212 Homer Street in Earlwood. This two storey brick and cement building (with a Manager’s Residence on the first floor) was constructed by H W Thompson Ltd of Alexandria at a cost of £3,730 and was completed in July 1934. It was described in the Canterbury Heritage Study (circa 1988) as "... a massive rendered masonry bank building. Austere façade in the Egyptian manner punctuated by a high entrance foyer flanked by massive columns bearing Egyptian capitals". In 1973 the Earlwood branch was moved to new premises at 352 Homer street and the old branch building closed. It was sold the same year to Brambles Brinks. It currently the home to Acropolis Funeral Services. Column capital detail Commonwealth Bank Earlwood in 1936 Sources: Commonwealth Bank Archive Department

The Commonwealth Bank Cronulla is on a site at 70 Cronulla Street in Cronulla that was previously a butcher shop. It was purchased by the Commonwealth Bank in December 1936. The butcher shop was demolished and an attractive, double storey branch building in the familiar Art Deco Commonwealth Bank style of the time was constructed by Hogden Bros of Enmore. Banking operations commenced from the new premises in July 1938. Main entrance facade Facade detail Cronulla takes its name from the Aboriginal word "Kurranulla", meaning "the place of pink shells" so it's argueable that this influenced the current colour scheme. Detail of window security bars A clock, with a calendar incorporated beneath the clock face, was installed above the branch entrance in January 1956. Major renovations in 1967 saw the removal of the clock. In 1989 the facade was refurbished to blend in sympathetically with the overall colour scheme and atmosphere of the Cronull