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The Hoyts Maling Theatre opened on 27th September 1941, and was built for and operated by Hoyts Theatre Ltd. chain.

The theatre closed on 12th February 1959, and was converted into a dance hall. After use as a church it was destroyed by a fire in March 1990. The building was demolished around 1992/1993 and shops have been built on the site.

The full story - The Maling Theatre was built in 1942. It faced competition in the 1950s as the increased use of cars took many families and young people to the drive-in theatres that sprouted within easy reach at Burwood and Tooronga. More importantly, the arrival of television in Melbourne in late 1956 severely limited the suburban cinema market and led to the closure of the theatre by the end of the 1950s.

The Maling Theatre was subsequently converted to a dance hall, a discoteque, and eventually a religious revival centre. Its prospects for any further recycling were stalled when it was substantially damaged by fire in 1990.

After protracted negotiations to ensure conformity to existing streetscapes, the present shops and rear carpark were build on the site of the demolished theatre and the adjacent shops and house to the Scott Street corner.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -