Regent Theatre

197 Keira Street,
Wollongong, NSW 2500

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Located in the coastal town of Wollongong, south of Sydney. The Regent Theatre was first planned in 1935, but after considerable delay, followed by World War II and further delays, construction didn’t begin until February 1950. Even then work on the building was slow, and it eventually opened on 5th April 1957. Seating was provided in stalls and circle levels. There are plaster mouldings on each of the side-walls which depict mythological scenes. The trough surrounding the proscenium originally contained concealed lighting. The ceiling has a criss-cross of lights representing a starry sky (although this is not an Atmospheric style theatre). There is a fully equipped stage which is 45 feet wide and 16 feet deep, and several dressing rooms. It is one of the few remaining historic buildings in the city.

It was equipped with 70mm projection in October 1967, when “My Fair Lady” was screened in the Todd-AO process.

In 2002, the 1,630-seat Regent Theatre was being threatened with demolition by Lend Lease, a local "speculator" and developer who proposed razing the opulent theater and erecting a supermarket and commercial complex in its place. The opulent movie house is also a beloved local treasure and residents banded together to fight the proposed devlopment.

The National Trust immediately swung into action by preparing a statement of significance for the building, and giving the Regent Theatre an interim listing on its Register.

After closing as a cinema in January 2004, following the death of the owner, it was purchased by a church. By March 2010, the church had vacated the building and it was ‘For Sale’.

Contributed by Cinema Treasures

Recent comments (view all 17 comments)

Lida on February 2, 2004 at 5:17 pm

not once in my life have i ever felt compelled to do something, but hearing of the closure of the regent theatre and walking passed it’s currently depressing state has made me, as a local, quite disturbed. For those of you who wish to follow me in taking action, please write letters to the wollongong city council urging them to protect such a valuable building. The more pressure from the local community the better. For further information you can contact me at .au Nicole.

GraemeEdwards on October 29, 2004 at 5:34 pm

This property is advertised for sale in the SMH today. Tenders close 30 November 2004. Details: .au[/email] or call Australia 0411 723 470. Obviously, LEND LEASE the company that owns the property (and adjacent mall) are worried about a possible Heritage Order. Exterior. entrance & foyers are the greatest attributes – the huge auditorium could be subdivided into multiple screens as is rather bland.

jefferywalker on May 31, 2005 at 5:21 pm

Has anyone heard what is going to happen to this theatre

PAULB on June 14, 2005 at 3:52 pm

The Regent Theatre is currently a Pentecostal Christian Church. I am not sure if they bought the site as it was for sale in late 2004. However, The Sydney Morning Herald dated Sat June 11th 2005 ran a freature article on Marion Best the interior designer whose colour scheme, lighting fixtures and rich decor is now recognised as the only cinema in Australia with its original work of hers all completely intact. A pic of the front revealed the movie times sign now reading: Church Services here now. The mega mall shopping complex next door had its expansion plans erased….
Re: Mr Edwards comment above that the interior is rather bland and could be cut up: tiresome negative and ill informed comments like that only de value this glorious theatre, which only helps heritage vandals get cinemas like this demolished at some stage. Really the Regent should still be screening films but at least as a church, it is intact and not tripled or demolished.

lostmemory on June 14, 2005 at 4:03 pm

Address: 197 Keira Street
Architect: Reginald J. Magoffin
Interior Design: Marion Hall Best and Janet Single.

brendo80 on March 24, 2008 at 3:02 am

I visited Wollongong at the start of 2007 and had tried to leave a comment here, but maybe I had not gone through the correct procedure, anyway, I used to live around the corner from the theater on Smith street one block away from Keira street, and I have to say my earliest memories as a child growing up were of this theater and seeing films at that point in time, when most of the buildings around it looked similar to the theater itself and at the time crown street was a road for cars and not the paved over mall it is today, I very upset to see this theater gone as it was a rich cornerstone of my imagination growing up and I still have fond memories of it to this day..

lostmemory on June 18, 2009 at 11:58 am

Here is an interior photo of the Regent.

lostmemory on June 18, 2009 at 12:14 pm

Exterior Photo

Interior Photo