Beacon Theatre

Statement of Significance

The cinema demonstrates a way of life and a social lifestyle in the Fremantle area that is no longer practiced. The local community has been involved since its inception when a competition was held to name the theatre. The place has demonstrated a continuity of social functions throughout its history. The Beacon cinema was the first cinema in Western Australia to incorporate the streamline modern style. It is also the first in the Perth metropolitan area with a stadium style interior seat layout. The architect, Samuel Rosethal, was a prominent cinema architect of the period. The sculptural massing, asymmetrical balance of vertical and horizontal elements, and stylised lettering and designs are characteristic of the Art Deco streamline modern architecture of the late 1930s. The place is a significant landmark, located on a rise at a prominent intersection in South Fremantle. The Beacon Theatre is an important element in the streetscape, responding to the corner location and the scale of the adjacent buildings. The projection box design was innovative, providing for fast changes between screening in the cinema or the open air gardens. The Beacon Theatre was the first modern cinema in the Fremantle area. The integrity and authenticity of the extant Art Deco detailing both internally and externally represents a fine example of this cinema type which is the last remaining in the Fremantle area, and one of the few remaining in the Fremantle area, and one of the few remaining in the state of Western Australia.

Physical Description

Rosenthal's design for the exterior of the building is still in evidence and demonstrates a successful blend of angular and curvilinear shapes. These begin at the corner where the cantilevered verandah sweeps around the building, protecting the entrance to the corner chemist shop. Here a strong vertical element is established by a panel which is situated over the entrance to the shop and helps to emphasise the corner. This is balanced by strong horizontal bands which wrap around the building and help accentuate the curved facade. At this point the shape of the verandah is softened by a stepped wall which creates a small courtyard at the Wray Ave Street level. The horizontal banding continues around the facade facing Hampton Road Rosenthal has outlined this very clearly on his drawing which articulates a prominent tower like structure over the main entrance to the theatre. This is composed of three vertical pillars broken by a horizontal band on which the name of the theatre was outlined. The verticality is re-enforced by a series of fluted upright panels which help strengthen the perpendicular aspect. This prominent feature not only accentuates the entrance to the theatre, but relates well to the streetscape. It is interesting to compare this treatment with the somewhat similar cinema in Waikiki, Hawaii, which it predated. The scale of the single storey frontage integrates with existing shops in Hampton Road, yet the entrance feature balances the hotel building on the diagonally opposite corner. At street level, the entrance was flanked by a pair of angular shaped ticket boxes. On either side showcases, which announced the forthcoming attractions, faced the street. Due to the angled position of the corner site, the vestibule was triangular in shape. In this arrangement the chemist on the corner occupied a wedge shaped space, whilst the theatre shop was regular in shape as it faced Hampton Road. The architect's drawings indicate that the cinema was originally designed as a stadium setting seating 153 in the Lounge and 639 in the stalls, making it one of the smaller theatres in Western Australia. Patrons to the lounge ascended a flight of stairs to the right of the vestibule, which brought them into a small upstairs lounge from whence they could make their way to the rear of the balcony. In 1937 Rosenthal installed a terrazzo floor where movie-goers entered from Hampton Rd. This floor treatment continued to the auditorium entrance where moviegoers descended three steps before ascending a gentle ramp which took them to the rear of the stalls Although it is unmarked on Rosenthal's plan it is assumed that the step down allowed female patrons access to the ladies room, where a space was put aside for the parking of prams. No provision was made for men’s toilets inside the building. These were situated at the rear of the building and are still in place today. From the positioning and inclusion of extra air vents in the projection room, it is apparent that Rosenthal has made provision for movie projection to indoor and outdoor venues at the Beacon Theatre since air vents were required to be located directly above the projectors. It is assumed from these indications that the space which is now occupied by a carpark for the supermarket, was intended as an Open Air Picture Gardens accompanying the indoor theatre on the south side of the site. Here at South Freo it appears that Rosenthal has one again used the concept of minimal movement of the projecting equipment in order to accommodate rapid changes from outdoor to indoor screening in the event of sudden inclement weather. The architect has designed a somewhat larger projection booth at the Beacon which has reduced the angle of the throw within the main auditorium.
The Beacon Theatre building is a prominent landmark in the South Fremantle district and still dominates the intersection on the corner of Hampton Road and Wray Avenue. In his design for busy the corner site, Rosenthal's displayed a keen concern for the sculptural massing which was one of the major characteristics of the Inter War Art Deco style. The architect has successfully combined vertical and horizontal elements in his design and for the first time has used strong streamlined effects, triple banding and geometric curves to help articulate the individual components of the building. To this he has added a series of vertical fins and once again concentrated on the use or ornament on the upper part of the building, together with stylised lettering and zig zag and chevron mouldings on the interior. The zig zag motif is particularly strong in the fibrous plaster decorations in the interior of the building. This includes the decorative coving in the vestibule which features stylised diamond and chevron shapes and in the main auditorium where raised vents are articulated by stepped protruding ribs. This space has temporarily been converted into a double height storage area for supermarket purposes. Here the visitor is brought close to the ceiling level in the present arrangement and Rosenthal's striking ceiling pattern can be seen at very close range. When examined from the architect's plan, this overlapping diamond shape is most striking. No doubt these features had a similar effect on patrons when the movie house was in full operation. Rosenthal has repeated these angular shapes in the lead lighting in some of the windows and doors in the internal part of the building and some of the fixtures including mirrors in the former staffroom. Rosenthal's longitudinal section show some visually striking curved decorative panels which it is presumed doubled as combined air vents and lighting fixtures. These overlapping bullet shaped devices symbolised streamlined motion. They were designed for both sides of the auditorium and continue at 45 degree angle to the proscenium arch. Although still extant, these interesting features cannot be seen at the Beacon although corresponding louvred vents are still in position on the exterior of the building and it is noted that no provision for lighting is provided in the plans.

History

The Art Deco styled Beacon Theatre was the third 'modern' cinema designed by Samuel Rosenthal in Western Australia. When Rosenthal received the commission the cinema was to be known as the Astoria. By the time the building opened in August 1937, the directors of the venture J C McKercher, Managing Director and Secretary and Director J Veryard of the Swan Picture Co. had decided to name the building the Beacon Theatre. This alternative title for the cinema honoured the name of the district and was chosen from over 400 others as a result of a competition conducted by the "Advocate" newspaper. On the first performance night the participating audience included politicians, civic and industrial and sporting representatives of the district as well as the successful and unsuccessful applicants for the competition. This indicated a broad involvement with the local community. The theatre was officially opened a week previously by His Worship the Mayor of Fremantle, Mr F E Gibson, who also made a brief address when the opening program was shown. This feature "Small Town Girl" starring Janet Gaynor and included a local, historical film of the opening of South Beach 27 years before. The building includes a row of shops, one of which occupies the corner site. The cinema is conveniently situated in the central position on the main road and during the 1930s buses and trams passed the door. At the time the proprietors believed that the movie house offered residents of the Fremantle district a place of entertainment equal to any other and one that ranks with the foremost theatres in Australia.
This place was identified by the Fremantle Society in 1979/80 as being of cultural heritage significance. (Coded: Brown: "Positively contributing to the built environment")

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