Rapallo Theatre
525 George Street,
Sydney,
NSW
2000
525 George Street,
Sydney,
NSW
2000
5 people
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I remember in 1978 seeing the Henry Winkler & Sally Field movie ‘Heroes’ here and then a few months later, ‘The One and Only’. The fading of the lights in the ceiling as the movie began was so beautiful. Hated the day they announced it was to close and soon after, torn down.
Opened as the Empress with “Into the jungle” and “a romance of the border”.
August 26th, 1912 first ad as Empress in the photo section.
A drawing of the Colonial No. 1 and a photo of the Colonial No. 2 have been uploaded to this theater’s photo page by CharmaineZoe, plus there is an architect’s drawing of the Colonial No. 2 which I uploaded. They indicate that Brooksie is mistaken. The Colonial No. 1 had an alley to the right, as does the Plaza Theatre, and Colonial No. 2 had an alley to the left, as did the Rapallo Theatre. It must have been the Plaza that was built on the site of the Colonial No. 1.
This post from Cezar Del Valle’s Bijou Dream weblog is also a bit confused. The heading gives the address of the Colonial No. 2, at 525 George Street, but I believe that the photo on the page actually depicts the Colonial No. 1, and on the bottom of that photo it says “Australia’s first continuous moving picture show” and then “J. D. Williams Ams. Co., 610 George St. Sydney.”
610 George Street would be under the footprint of the Plaza Theatre. The Colonial No. 1 was an existing theater that J. D. Williams acquired in 1910, and which he then remodeled. The MPW photo must depict the house pre-remodel. The entrance is wider and the decorative details are different in CharmaineZoe’s drawing, so it must be a post-remodel view.
610 George Street was the main office of the J. D. Williams Amusement Company, according to an advertisement for the company that is one of many illustrations in a photo essay by Ross Thorne (PDF here.) The essay features vintage photos of the Colonial after it had been renamed Empress and the Victory after it had been renamed Rapallo.
There are also numerous color photos of the Victory/Rapallo by the author. Despite numerous Art Deco features, especially on the facade, the Victory was a very streamlined theater. Its interior could serve as a textbook example of the transition from Art Deco to Streamline Modern that took place through the 1930s.
Actually the Rapallo was built on the site of Colonial No 1. Colonial No 2 was demolished for the construction of the Plaza Theatre, across the road.
the person who told me Rock Around The Clock ran for a year has backed off, saying well it seemed like a year. The film actually ran for 12 weeks, on a double bill with Five Against The House.
The architects of the original Colonial No. 2 Theatre, 1910-1939, were Eaton & Bates.
The lane at photo left of the Victory is Albion Place, should the map be adjusted