In the main shopping street/mall of Cronulla, is this beautiful building and cinema. In the upstairs foyer (with building 'codes' these days, the stairs would not be allowed!) were a couple of posters on the history of the building.
"In 1928, up to 1400 patrons were assured of comfortable seats in the luxurious confines of the picture palace in Cronulla with no pillars blocking sight lines and some views from the dress circle even stretching out to the Pacific Ocean beyond the nearby beach.
"Architecture, furnishings and fittings were in the Old English Style, pleasing to the eye, and ventilation was a special feature, the edifice cool during the summer months and satisfactorily warm in the winter.
"A garden area offered buffet refreshments and a quiet haven for smokers to engage in their favourite pastime and the orchestra was strategically placed with a double concave floor giving tone and volume to their musical accompaniment."
Another poster 'talks about' the food, as well.
"The Cronulla picture theatre opened its doors to patrons for a princely sum of three shilling for a reserved seat, at 8:15pm on Thursday October 18, 1928.
"Televisions advent was 30 years away and the big night out in the Sutherland area was the Saturday jaunt to Cronulla Theatre and a chocolate bar or ice cream from the tray vendors who patrolled the building plying their wares.
"From humble beginnings as a public hall for council meetings to a rock concert venue decades later, and now as a shopping, dining and entertainment facility, the Cronulla Cinema Complex and it environs remains a hub of cultural and business activity for the increasingly progressive and an ever beautiful shire."
[Text courtesy of St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, Thursday December 10, 1998; from the indoor posters]
Address: 2 - 6 Cronulla Street, Cronulla, New South Wales, 2230, Australia
FaceBook page: (
visit link)
Visited: 1949, Saturday, 30 June, 2018
[I had missed the last ferry to a CITO Event at Bundeena the following day, so did some photographing before 'turning in'.]