Page 8 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

entertainment during the film programs. In March 1930 the Rialto scooped the pool by installing sound equip-
ment and screening the 100% talking film "Broadway Melody". Screenings now took place every night (except
Sunday). (1) The Rialto and the Lyric were both owned by Eastern Theatres from 1930c.

The street frontage to the Rialto theatre was narrow and was fairly insignificant situated between the surround-
ing shops. There was modest classical treatment over the entrance area The theatre lobby was entered through
two sets of doors; one set each side of a large showcase window. The island ticket box was located just inside
the lobby. A staircase on the right hand side led to the circle foyer which had been converted from the upstairs
meeting room in earlier renovations. A "candy counter" servicing the theatre lower lobby was located at the rear
of Milk Bar shop on left hand side of the building. (3)

Two sets of doors led from the lobby into the Back Stalls. The front stalls were accessed by means of a passage
way from the lobby down the left hand side of the building to a side entrance. The actual definition of front and
back stalls seats depended on the whim of the management and audience demands.(3)

Rialto Theatre with 1950's Facade

In the 1950's the facade of the theatre was modernized, the classical features were removed and a smooth
rendered and blue tiled treatment was installed. A stylized ballerina and theatre signage was imposed on the
tiled area. Very little was done to improve the internal decore.

With the impact of television, since its introduction in 1956, the owners were forced to reassess their position.
They maintained two deteriorating buildings in a high profile strip shopping centre. As the Rialto was on the
southern and most prominent side of the road it was first to close in the late 1950's. The building was converted
into The Walk, an arcade of shops and offices, which remains to this day.(1). All operations were consolidated
into the nearby Regent theatre.

Regent/Lyric/Box Hill Theatre/Hall: Opened as an occasional Cinema in 1920 and closed in 1971

A Mr. T. Mates of "Towong• Box Hill submitted plans to the Health Department(2) for a two storey recreational
hall to be built in Whitehorse Rd.; these were approved in January 1919. A Mr. J.W. Young of "Mandella",
Doncaster Rd. Box Hill was recorded as the architect and builder (2).

The brick building was located on the north side of Whitehorse Rd., at the north west corner of Watt St., on a
steeply sloped site. The building included a small stage area with an orchestra pit, a raked floor (downstairs), a
balcony with a small bio (projection) room at the rear. The upstairs area was accessed from a stairway which
lead directly from a downstairs foyer into the centre of the balcony. Reinforced concrete beams and columns
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