by Rose Raymen
Image SLWA 013021PD: Stage of the Ambassadors Theatre, c 1928. (Source: State Library of Western Australia)
Ambassadors Theatre 1928 – 1972
The Ambassadors Theatre, located at 625 Hay Street, Perth, was designed by European-born American architect and stage designer John Eberson, in conjunction with the architectural firm of Bohringer, Taylor and Johnson. John Eberson is credited with inventing the ‘atmospheric’ style of movie theatres in the early 1920s. These theatres featured elaborate detailing inspired by ancient Greece and ceilings were painted to look like the nighttime sky, complete with stars and clouds.
On Saturday, 29 September 1928, the Ambassadors Theatre opened with a gala ceremony. On 10 February 1928, Stuart F. Doyle, managing director of Union Theatres gave an interview to the ‘Daily News’ newspaper, prior to the opening of the Ambassadors Theatre, “Perth theatregoers can be prepared for something unique in architectural beauty and sensational in its treatment, when the time comes for the Ambassadors to throw open its mighty doors.”
In the 1930s, Hoyts Theatres took over from Union Theatres, and in 1938 the Ambassadors was remodeled, losing much of the atmospherics in the process, which had contributed to its distinctive character. The theatre also featured a Wurlitzer organ, which was shipped to Hoyts Regent Theatre (Melbourne), replacing the organ destroyed by fire in 1945.
The Ambassadors Theatre closed on Wednesday, 2 February 1972 and was demolished the following year to be replaced by Hoyts Cinema Complex. The demise of the iconic Ambassadors Theatre was regrettably one of Perth’s architectural heritage losses.
Acknowledgements
State Library of Western Australia
Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
Fremantle Library
Trove – National Library of Australia
Museum of Performing Arts (MOPA)
West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO)
Wikipedia
