Also known as Orpheum Theatre
Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace
Cremorne, Sydney, New South Wales
380 Military Road
,
Cremorne, Sydney,
New South Wales 2090 Australia
(
map)
+61.02.99084441
 Interior view of the luscious Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace
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.
Contributed by Steve Maggs
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