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| Sydney Architecture
Images- Northern Suburbs Hayden Orpheum Theatre |
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architect |
G.N.Kenworthy |
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location |
380 Military Road Cremorne |
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date |
1935 Refurb John Love 1987 |
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style |
Inter-War Art Deco |
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construction |
stone cladding, render |
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type |
Theater |
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The Art Deco style Orpheum Theatre, located in the Sydney suburb of
Cremorne, opened in October 1935, the second of the Orpheum Theatres in
Sydney built by the Virgona family. The first Orpheum was in the suburb
of North Sydney, but now lies underneath the tarmac of the main freeway
leading to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Orpheum was designed on strictly modern lines, and was regarded in 1935 as one of the most up-to-date theaters in Australia. In its early days, the theater was also used for stage productions, having a large stage and fly tower. In 1971, the Orpheum was 'for sale' as a redevelopment site, but thankfully, it was not sold. It remained a family operated cinema until its closure in 1979. In 1977, it was classified by the National Trust of New South Wales. In fact, the Australian Cinema and Theatre Society held its inaugral meeting at the theater in April 1982, and in 2002, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary there. The theater has changed very little over the years. Its angular decoration is in the jazz style of the popular 'kitsch' art deco. The theater was later carved in half, horizontally. The stalls area became a small arcade of shops, while the dress circle was retained as a cinema. In 1986, Australian TV personality, Mike Walsh, bought the Orpheum and restored the main auditorium to its former glory, opening it as the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace on December 9, 1987 with the feature 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles.' The theater boasts a massive screen and 70mm projectors. A Wurlitzer theater pipe organ has been installed and rises up from the depths of the stage for concerts. The organ is also used for accompaniment to showings of Australian silent films. The Orpheum has seen many changes since 1987, when a second screen was added to the former Ballroom area. This second screen is called 'The Lounge Cinema' and opened in early 1988, seating 167. In September 1991, the former entrance to the back stalls was opened as the 'Hayden Cabaret Room'. This was later converted into a third screen seating 149. A fourth screen, the Virgona, opened in March 1996, seating 312. This screen was the first Art Moderne cinema to be built in Australia for almost 50 years. In 2000, another two cinemas, also in the Art Deco/Moderne theme, were opened where the arcade of shops once stood, making a total of five new cinemas that have been built around the existing (and magnificent) original auditorium. The two new cinemas seat 205 and 140, respectively. With thanks to http://cinematreasures.org/theater/848 |
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The Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Cremorne is entertainment for
grown-ups. At 73, this Grande Dame of a theatre is a lady of the Jazz
age, bedecked in the jewels of Art Deco. She is a cinema for the mature
and the mature at heart. Enter her blue-lit lobby with its extraordinary stained glass gas lights and you will find yourself longing for a fur stole across your shoulders and a cigarette holder to dangle languidly from your be-gloved, diamond encrusted hand as you sip a cocktail before the show. "Classy entertainment with classy ambience," declares Paul Dravet, Managing Director of the Hayden Orpheum, from within the ornate cinema's office when asked to describe her ethos. "First class entertainment in a first class setting. Adult entertainment. How's that?" It's not that kind of adult entertainment but there is a certainly a sensuality to the Hayden Orpheum, a sensuality that harks back to her youth as a 1930s cinema doyenne, and despite her 1980s face lift she is as sumptuous as ever. She retains her velvet curtains, luxurious chairs and Wurlitzer organ - brought all the way from California to accompany the silent movies first played in her theatre. It still presides over cinema four, The Orpheum, the dress circle of the original theatre. And each of the six current cinemas lovingly reproduces her original Art Deco style, from the stained glass dome in cinema three, The Lounge, to the leadlight lady on the wall of cinema six, The Hayden, every cinema is different, yet each is an astounding representation of the 1930s jazz style. She is, says Dravet, the best example of Art Deco in Australia and patrons are constantly astounded by her authenticity, despite several of the cinemas being only a decade old. As for the films themselves, they are as sophisticated as the décor; no popcorn and blockbusters here. A look at the Orpheum's 'now showing' list is a roll call of foreign language, art house and Australian films. “We lean towards a specialised market,” said Dravet. “We've stuck with that through thick and thin at it's paid off. Dravet, who has been with the Orpheum for 20 years, has the enviable job of choosing the films, which he says is a matter of following a film's overseas performance, tracking down trailers and surfing websites. He'd like to watch every offering but it's just not possible, instead he relies on his instinct to know what will be right. "You've got to surprise people, not stick to the safe stuff," he says, She is aging well, the Orpheum, and opening her arms to a broader spectrum of entertainments. Sunday Jazz treats are a regular affair. Book signings and speakers are also becoming features as this Grande Dame continues to challenge her devotees with an interesting, different cinema experience. With thanks to http://www.kluster.com.au/issuefour/independent-cinemas/hayden-orpheum.htm |
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www.sydneyarchitecture.com |
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links |
www.orpheum.com.au |