Sydney Art Deco Heritage

Kinselas Hotel at 383-387 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst contains a former funeral chapel within the building that is an important example of the work of major architect C. Bruce Dellit. Despite modifications it remains one of the finest Art Deco style interiors in metropolitan Sydney and New South Wales. In the second half of 1932 the firm of Charles Kinsela engaged the young architect to remodel the building for use as a funeral parlour, to design new chapels, office and residential accommodation, preparatory to taking up occupation of the premises. Today the remaining chapel, despite its modified state, is sufficiently intact to represent an important example of Dellit's work as a major Interwar architect. Further, it is amongst the finest remaining funery spaces in metropolitan Sydney from the 1930s and a fine local example of the Art Deco style. The porch on Bourke Street is also evidence of this phase of the building's history. Photos don't do the space justice so

The Henson Park Hotel at 91 Illawarra Road in Marrickville was designed by Sidney Warden and built in 1936 on the original site of the Town Hall Hotel by Tooth and Company. It was threatened with closure in 2007 but strong support from locals made council reject the development. Facade detail Window detail Sources: NSW Government "History of the suburbs"

Here are four shops in Mascot I discovered recently at 1209 -1223 Botany Road. It is unusual to see a group of Art Deco buildings adjacent to each other here in Sydney. Number 1223 is known as "Mascot Corner" while number 1213-1215 is known as "Orion House". I have been unable to find any further information on these buildings. 1209 - 1211 Botany Road facade detail 1213 - 1215 Botany Road facade detail 1217-1219 Botany Road facade detail Mascot Corner

The Ateco Manufacturing Facility is located at 634-726 Princes Highway in Tempe. The property consists of two lots that belonged to a widow from 1926 to 1940. THey were then purchased by the Perpetual Trustee Company who owned them until 1947. New owners WD & HO Wills sold in 1954 to Penfolds Wines. Dalwood Vineyards then had them from 1956 to 1986. Penfold Management Services Pty Limited owned the Lots until 1994. From 1995 to 2007 it belonged to Ateco Automotive Pty Limited and the current owner is Valad Commercial Management Limited. The clock tower Sources: Coffey Environmental Assesment

The Chateau Blanc is an old Art Deco theatre located at 57-61 South Street in Granville. It was rebuilt as the Granville Hoyts Castle cinema in 1947. It was designed by Cowper, Murphy & Associates and built by A.W. Edwards. Both the Castle cinema and the Crest Cinema in Blaxcell Street were built in the late 1940s utilising a Quonset design emerging from wartime construction methods. The new cinema opened 26 Dec. 1947 and closed Oct 1959. It was later used as a supermarket and a reception centre. All that is left today is the facade. Extensive additions have been made to make it into a large function centre known as the Grande Royale. Sources: Sydney Heritage Listings Parramatta Cinema History

The Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace at 380 Military Road in Cremorne is the jewel in the crown of surviving Art Deco cinemas in Australia. Listed in the RAIA Register of Significant 20th Century Buildings the theatre was built in 1935 and designed by G N Kenworthy and built by by Angelo Virgona. In December 1986, Mike Walsh bought the historic Cremorne Orpheum under his company Hayden Theatre Pty. Ltd, initially spending $2.5 million on its restoration. It was reopened in December 1987. The Orpheum's interior replicates all the original art-deco fittings, color schemes, lighting and design. The outstanding namesake "Orpheum" auditorium has a Wurlitzer pipe organ that raises and lowers through a trapdoor in front of the screen. Front entrance The candy bar Foyer ceiling light detail Another style of ceiling light Art Deco style wall mirror View up stairs to theatres

The Metro building is located at 28 Orwell Street in Potts Point and was designed by Bruce Dellit in 1939 and was previously known as The Minerva Theatre. In the 1960s it was the venue for the groundbreaking musical "Hair". For a time in the 1970s it was a supermarket. It has been restored and is the headquarters of Kennedy Miller, makers of the films "Mad Max" and "Babe". Facade detail View from the west Sources: Sydney Heritage Listings

The Orion Center at 153-155 Beamish Street in Campsie opened on 7th March 1936 as the Orion Theatre. Named after the ship Orion it comprised 999 seats and was the most highly regarded cinema in Campsie for many years. The Orion was closed in 1959 until Canterbury City Council decided to refurbish it as a community hall in the 1980s. The Wurlitzer organ from the Capitol Theatre was restored and installed in the Orion which was re-opened in 1988. It is currently a Function Centre which was looking very tired in 2009 when the photo was taken. I noticed the building has been repainted recently and it has made a world of difference both to the building and the streetscape of Campsie. Facade detail A new coat of paint! The Wurlitzer organ in the Capitol Theatre This photograph, courtesy of B Tooker and the City of Canterbury Local History Photograph Collection, shows organist Ian Davies seated at the Wurlitzer organ in the Capitol Theatre. Canterbury City Council purch

Southport is one of the oldest areas on the Gold Coast and as such has several beautiful Art Deco buildings built during the 1930's. A stroll down Nerang street reveals several excellent examples. The best of these is the old Town Hall located at 47 Nerang Street which is now the Council Chambers. Built in 1935 this important example of an Art Deco influenced building replaced the earlier timber Town Hall building on the site. It was designed by Hall and Phillips who designed many other Art Deco influenced buildings in south east Queensland. The Art Deco ornamentation both inside and out has survived making this a rare example of this style of public building. It has social significance as a centrally located civic building which has been open for public purposes for over sixty years. Detailed view of the central facade View of the original Art Deco leadlight windows Sources: Gold Coast Local Heritage Listings Your Brisbane - Past and Present

The Mascot Inn at 952 Botany Road, Mascot, was previously known as the Tennyson Hotel. It was designed by Sidney Warden who was the most prolific of the several architects who designed hotels for Tooth & Co. Other architects who worked for Tooth & Co - Sidney Ancher, Sam Lipson, Rudder & Grout - were better known, but none designed so many hotels or so many well-known hotels as Sidney Warden. By his own count, Warden's work encompassed 392 hotels including familiar structures such as the Clare, the Lansdowne, the Broadway, the Henson Park, the Marrickville, the Star, the Native Rose, the Chatswood, the Mayfair, the Oxford, the Light Brigade .... a pub crawl of Warden's hotels would be a lengthy session! Sources: Powerhouse Museum Archives

The Botany View Hotel is located at 597 King Street, Newtown, and was established in 1868 and has always been known as the Botany View Hotel. Although not strictly an Art Deco hotel the front corner treatment above the awning is nice and has a deco feel. View of the hotel in 1930. View of the hotel in 1938 after getting an updated facade. There has been little change to the facade over the except for a coat of paint. Sources: Sydney Heritage Listings ANU Open Research Library

The Union Hotel at 576 King Street, Newtowm, is a good example of an interwar Functionalist style hotel, which dates from the key period of hotel rebuilding by the major breweries in NSW. The Union Hotel is part of an important group of Inter War Hotels located on King Street, which also includes the Marlborough Hotel and the Town Hall Hotel. The building was designed by prominent hotel architechts, Rudder and Grout, who were responsible for many hotels in NSW during the 1920s and 1930s. It was established in 1946 with the license from the former Union Inn, corner of Iredale and Union Streets. Union Hotel facade detail Sources: Sydney Heritage Listings