Sun Theatre
Hampden Road,
Sydney,
NSW
2064
Hampden Road,
Sydney,
NSW
2064
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Prince Of Wales Theatre, Regent Theatre, Savoy Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Artarmon is a small suburb sandwiched between St. Leonards and Chatswood, about six miles from Sydney’s cbd on the lower North Shore. Described as a leafy residential area, Artarmon had a string of shops on Hampden Road which parallels the railway tracks.
The largest building was the Prince of Wales Theatre, built in 1923. That name was dropped in 1937 when the Prince, as King Edward VIII, abdicated the U.K. throne. The facade was given an Art Deco style makeover in 1937 and the final name was the Sun Theatre.
As an independent it lacked booking clout to get first run movies and settled for third run double bills. Seating was originally for 1,000 in the stalls and lounge, later reduced to 803 when the lounge was closed.
Competition was stiff from the three chain theatres in neighboring Chatswood and the Sun Theatre closed in 1951. It became department store Grace Bros. furniture repository until it was demolished in 1980 and a block of flats built on the site.
Contributed by
john gleeson
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The cinema opened as the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1923. In 1937 the cinema was renamed the Sun, after the Prince of Wales it had been named for, who on 20 January 1936 had inherited the throne as King Edward VIII, become involved with an American divorcee Wallis Simpson, and abdicated the Crown to marry her. (Source: Rachel Fallowfield, ‘Artarmon’ (2008), in The Dictionary of Sydney [online].)
Actually, it was only known as the Prince of Wales for six years. From 1930 it was called Regent, then Sun and finally Savoy. For a more detailed chronology of events, follow the text to be found with my sequence of images in the photo section.