Page 11 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

54. Yeppoon - Film Theatre/Capricorn/Kavlon by Gerry Kennedy

OWNER:- Ken Baglow ARCHITECT:- Neil McKendry BUILDER:- George CaliantiaJ>

The Yeppoon theatre was built as the single screen Kavlon in 1977 by Ken Bag low's father. It originally seated
365 on one rake but it has been converted firstly into a twin and more recently into a triple cinema. It seats 220
in Cinema 1 (original auditorium), 75 in Cinema 2 and 48 in Cinema 3.

The theatre was cut into a steep hill on a corner site and was carefully designed to take advantage of this factor.
The building is constructed of steel framing and concrete blocks using the curtain wall approach. A suspended
ceiling has been fitted beneath the decking roof in the original auditorium. The theatre is air-conditioned. The
original theatre was entered via a central staircase from the foyer across the front of the building. This staircase
led directly in to the auditorium fairly close to the original screen.

The Yeppoon Twin Film Theatre- By Gerry Kennedy

The interior was of a utilitarian design and generally plain. The stepped floor was curved to achieve the best
vision lines. The seats were sourced from the former BCC Wintergarden Theatre in Rockhampton and feature
a slatted back with upholstered seats; they have been finished in light blue paint with matching fabric.

The Kavlon operated as an independent cinema but found the competition from BCC Rockhampton Twin
(formerly the Earls Court) difficult being only about 50 kms away. By 1983 Kevin Baglow had converted part of
the entrance foyer into a "Movie Memorabilia" store and soon after introduced a video hire business as well.
The video business was subsequently sold off and the new owners leased the foyer space from Mr. Baglow. As
a consequence of this leasing the candy bar was moved into the cinema itself and was at the rear of the
auditorium, on the left hand side next to the projection booth.

Over the years a variety of alterations have been made to the cinema. About 1993 Kevin Bag low took over the
foyer space again and the video business was moved to another location. Most of the foyer was then converted
into Cinema 2; this was a shallow but wide cinema . A very small ticket selling area and candy bar was installed
on the left hand front corner of the building. A ticket selling window was also placed through the wall onto the
side street.

The former entrance staircase to the original cinema was closed and the new entrance was through the former
stage left exit. A canvas roofed covered way was built along the side of the building which led to this new
entrance.