Frankston Plaza Theatre

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Frankston Plaza Theatre Playne Street, Frankston, VIC

Pictured: Change of ownership & introduction of talkies as reported in the Somerville Standard Saturday 11 October 1930, page 4.

Frankston Picture theatre changes hands*

Comment: The Frankston Picture Theatre successfully ran silent movies to excellent crowds until the property was sold (at auction) to the Plaza Theatre Company in 1930 for £8,000. It officially re-opened on October 13, 1930 as the Frankston Plaza Theatre with the introduction of ‘talking pictures’. In May 1945 the theatre made major improvements with the installation of the new Australian-made Raycophone Sound system, where sound is distributed accurately to every seat in the theatre.

CinemaScope*

CinemaScope was installed in the early-1950’s and the Plaza Theatre ran well into the mid to late-1950’s (it was still open in 1959-1960), until television forced its closure. The actual closing date is currently unknown, however we do know that the theatre was demolished to be replaced by the Ball and Welch department store in the early-1960’s - Contributed by Greg Lynch -