Astor Theatre

Opened as the Lyceum Theatre around 1914. The Lyceum Theatre was designed by architect David McClure. By the mid-1920’s the name changed from Lyceum Theatre to State Theatre.

The State Theatre was redesigned by architect William T. Leighton in an Art Deco style, reopening on 12th May 1939. The name of the theatre was changed to Astor Theatre in 1941. In the 1951-52 edition of Film Weekly Motion Picture Directory it is listed as the Astor Theatre & Gardens with a seating capacity of 1,239 in the cinema, and 1,295 in the gardens (open air cinema).

The Astor received an extensive refurbishment in 1989 by architect Philip McAllister. The Astor Cinema is a heritage listed building. As far as I can tell, the Astor Cinema closed on August 27, 2008 with the screening of "The Dark Knight". It was re-opened and presents live music and comedy performances, as well as movies.

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Ken Roe on February 19, 2010 at 3:01 am

The auditorium, photographed in November 2007:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozequus/1840254401/

Mark747 on May 17, 2010 at 4:56 am

Here is an 1928 photo of the Lyceum:
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Change of name to The State:
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And when it got a Art Deco facelift as The State Theatre 1939:
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1952 photo with all the tram lines:
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davidcoppock on August 2, 2015 at 3:58 am

The Astor Open Air Gardens site is now Astor Arcade to the right of the Astor Theatre(Beaufort Street side).

davidcoppock on October 8, 2017 at 4:35 am

Classified by the National Trust on 1/8/1988. State Heritage register 2425, 14/5/1999.