Crown Street Picture Theatre, Surry Hills

G’day, Charles Touma here, and today, I’m on Crown Street, just close by to Arthur and Rainford, in the wonderful suburb of Surry Hills. Now, can you imagine a world without Netflix, Amazon Prime or Stan, even 47 years before Australian television existed? Imagine Sydney in 1910, where life was tough, and entertainment wasn’t part of normal life. Yet, that changed somewhat in this area, when on this corner, an open air theatre was built in 1910 to accommodate 1000 customers. It was called the Crown Star Picture Theatre. A glamorous feel was created, with internal decorations and velvet curtains throughout. Seating was initially on benches, and the movies would not be the latest releases, rather films that had done the rounds and could be acquired cheaply by the cinema owners. Staff would wear formal dinner jackets to glamourise the venue.

This became a special occasion for the majority of Surry Hills residents, and for a few years, a second Crown Star Picture Theatre was opened on the corner of Crown and Foveaux Street, to accommodate the overflow from the cinema, as the movies really took off. Initially, all movies were silent, with a commentator and a live pianist next to the screen playing music that matched the emotions of the movie. The most popular type of movie in those early days of the Crown Star Picture Theatre, focused on stories about bushrangers, who were outlaws that used the bush as their base to skirt the law. Ned Kelly featured heavily. However, within a few years of operating, the New South Wales Gov’t banned bushranger movies, as they thought it was too dangerous to glamourise criminal activity. Many other cinemas opened in the area including the Redfern Picture Palace on Lawson Square, several on Oxford Street, the Coronation Picture Theatre further down Crown Street, on Cleveland Street, and the Imperial on Yurong Street, a few years later.

After opening the Crown Star Picture Theatre, the owners erected a canvas roof, and in 1912 a permanent roof was erected. However, in 1925, a late night fire created vast damage, and the decision was made to close the theatre and the building was demolished in 1927. Many local cinemas continued to make hay, until television launched, around the time of the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. It’s important to remember our local history, and I’m passionate about keeping it alive. My name’s Charles Touma, and I’ve been selling in this area for 20 years. My Ray White office on Thurlow Street, is always open for you to come in and have a chat.