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Plaza Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema at 163-169 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey, Junior and built from 1929 to by John Hutchinson. It is now known as the Paddington Antiques Centre. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 March 2003. == History == The former Plaza Theatre at Paddington was erected by Brisbane contractor John Hutchinson (later J Hutchinson & Sons). Originally commissioned for Greater Brisbane Motion Pictures Ltd and probably designed by Brisbane architect Richard Gailey jnr, the Plaza is a rare early 20th century "atmospheric" theatre in Queensland. Shortly after construction commenced, the Hutchinson family acquired both the building and the land, commencing a long association with the theatre.〔 In 1929 application to Brisbane City Council was made by Greater Brisbane Motion Pictures Ltd of Brisbane for the construction of a new picture theatre at the corner of Collingwood Street and Latrobe Terrace, Paddington (allotments 9-13 of portion 757, parish of Enoggera), to cost £8,000. The architect was recorded as Richard Gailey jnr and the contractor was John Hutchinson. Plans were approved by 22 June 1929.〔 At the time of application, title to the land was still in the names of William Drynan (allots 9-10) and Georgina Blackwell (allots 11-13). Drynan's land was transferred to Queensland Talkie Pictures Ltd in December 1931, and following Mrs Blackwell's death in August 1931, allots 11-13 passed to the same company in November 1932. Also in November 1932, Queensland Talkie Pictures Ltd took out mortgages on all four allotments from John Hutchinson, who ultimately gained title to allotments 11-13 in 1941, and to allotments 9-10 in 1955. The Hutchinson family understand that before construction was completed, the exhibition company (which they refer to as Associated Pictures) became insolvent and ownership of the building also passed to the contractors.〔 In 1929 the Plaza Theatre faced strong competition from at least two rival picture shows in the Paddington-Red Hill district: Stephens New Paddington Theatre on Given Terrace () and Red Hill Picture Pops on Enoggera Terrace (). Although the Plaza was by no means the first picture theatre in the Paddington district, it was the most ornate, erected in a third wave of picture theatre construction which swept Brisbane suburbs in the late 1920s and 1930s. The proliferation of small suburban picture shows through the 1920s, the introduction of the "talkies" (which necessitated considerable capital investment to acquire sound projection equipment), and the effects of the depression, combined to produce keen competition in suburban film exhibition. Suburban theatres of this period could no longer survive as the open-air venues of the 1910s or the tin sheds of the early 1920s - they had to offer the public something more than just the films. Theatres all over Brisbane either closed, or were remodelled or rebuilt along more substantial, more comfortable and more decorative lines, with the object of capturing local imagination and loyal attendance. Few suburban picture exhibitors, however, could afford to match the opulence of the central city theatres, such as Birch, Carroll and Coyle's Wintergarden Theatre (1923–24), or Hoyt's Regent Theatre (1929). Interestingly, at the time that Gailey is recorded in mid-1929 as the architect for the Plaza Theatre, he was also the Brisbane supervising architect for the opulent Regent Theatre in Queen Street, designed by Melbourne architect Charles N Hollinshed.〔 The Plaza at Paddington, with its painted blue ceiling resembling the night sky and side niches and painted barley-twist columns suggesting a Spanish courtyard, is the only Brisbane suburban picture theatre identified to date, which can be described as "atmospheric". The term denotes a picture theatre with an interior decor that simulated an exotic outdoor setting. Atmospheric cinemas were popularised in Australia in the late 1920s and early 1930s after the architect for Sydney-based Union Theatres, Henry White, travelled to the United States to study picture theatre design. He looked in particular at the work of American architect John Eberson, who specialised in atmospheric cinemas themed and appropriated from Byzantine, Persian, Spanish, Moorish and Egyptian architecture, which extended theatrical illusion from screen to venue. While the Paddington Plaza was not of the same scale and opulence as the great Australian atmospheric theatres such as Sydney's Capitol (1928 - seating capacity 2900), Perth's Ambassadors (1928 - seating 2000) and Melbourne's State (1929 - seating 3300), the design incorporated the essential elements of the "atmospheric", in that the interior decoration simulated an outdoor venue.〔 It is understood that the Plaza Theatre was designed initially to screen only silent film, but in 1929 synchronised sound and film was introduced to Australia and the Plaza opened as a "talkies" theatre. The seats (capacity 1250 in 1938) were arranged on a single-level raked floor. The Plaza Theatre came to be a popular meeting place for Paddington residents. It was open seven days a week, with serials shown on Monday and Tuesday nights, films and newsreels on other nights, and a matinee programme on Sunday afternoons. On Saturdays, trams reputedly would stop outside the theatre at opening time and wait until the film finished to take patrons home again. Popular films attracted audiences of around 1200, for the movies appealed to all ages. A special soundproofed glass room, called the "cry room", was provided for young mothers and their babies.〔 The Plaza Theatre complex included a group of eight shops/offices fronting Latrobe Terrace either side of the entrance foyer. These premises were occupied soon after completion, and for many years lessees included Harold Louitt's chemist shop (1930–69), a dressmaker, a grocer and a milkbar. After the movies patrons congregated at the milkbar, which retained its original fittings until refurbished in 1994.〔 The theatre operated successfully until television was introduced to Brisbane in the late 1950s, by which time Plaza audiences were reduced to 20-30 patrons per screening, in an auditorium which by 1960 contained seating for 932 persons. In 1961 the Plaza Theatre ceased to operate as a cinema. A level floor was installed and the building was used for indoor basketball. In 1968 this activity ceased following a court case instigated by a neighbour who complained of the noise. The Plaza remained mostly vacant until 1974 when Hutchinsons moved their offices from West End into the foyer. In 1975 the company underwent a major restructure and moved to new premises. Hutchinsons sold the theatre in 1977 and it currently houses an antiques retailing centre. The shops fronting Latrobe Terrace are still occupied by a variety of tenants, and the complex is still the focus of a small nodal shopping centre.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Plaza Theatre, Paddington」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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