Sun Theatre facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Film exhibition |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
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Area served
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Melbourne, Victoria |
| Owner | Sun Theatre Trust (controlled by Anne and Michael Smith) |
The Sun Theatre is a popular cinema with eight screens. It is located in Yarraville, a suburb in Melbourne, Australia.
Contents
History of the Sun Theatre
Opening and Early Days
The Sun Theatre first opened its doors in 1938. Back then, it was a single-screen cinema. It could hold 1,050 people! The theatre was very popular. People thought it was the most luxurious cinema around. Many crowds came to watch movies every week. There were special counters to buy tickets. The place where they sold candy back then is now the Sun Bookshop.
One unique thing about the Sun Theatre was its "pram room." Parents could leave their babies in prams there. Each baby was given a number. If a baby started crying, their number would flash on the movie screen. This let the parents know their baby needed them.
Changes Over Time
The Sun Theatre became less popular in the 1950s and 1960s. This was mainly because television became common in Australia. In the late 1960s, the Sun Theatre changed. It became a Greek theatre. This was to serve the growing Greek community in Yarraville. However, this new theatre had to close. The Health Department shut it down because the carpets were not clean.
For 20 years, the Sun Theatre was left empty and run-down. It was bought in 1995 by its current owners. The building was in very bad shape. It had graffiti and missing parts. It was almost just four brick walls. The new owners worked hard to fix it up. Between 1998 and 2003, they turned it into one of Melbourne's most popular places for watching films.
Modern Facilities at the Sun Theatre
Today, the Sun Theatre has eight smaller cinemas. It can seat about 700 people in total. When it reopened in 1995, the big main room was split into four cinemas. Two more were added at the back. All the new screens still have the original style of the theatre.
A cool feature is the original club seating. These seats have been fixed up with soft suede fabric. Each group of seats shares a small coffee table. They also have lots of space for your legs.
Naming the Cinemas
The cinemas inside the Sun Theatre are named after old cinemas. These were cinemas that used to be in Melbourne, especially in Yarraville and the western suburbs.
- Grand: This is the Sun's biggest cinema. It is named after the last cinema to close in Footscray.
- Barkly: Named after another famous Footscray cinema. This room is based on the upper seating area of the original Sun Theatre.
- Trocadero: This cinema is named after a long-closed cinema in Footscray. It still has parts of the original plaster from the Sun Theatre.
- Lyric: Named after the second cinema in Yarraville. This room was first meant to be a private screening room. Now it has 33 regular chairs and 7 comfy lounge chairs with coffee tables.
- Davis: This cinema is named after a special person. He was a projectionist at the Sun in the 1950s. This cinema has 100 seats. It is decorated with cool old items. These include old telegrams and the original Wurlitzer organ.
- La Scala: Named after an Italian cinema in Footscray. This cinema has fancy features. It has 52 leather couches and paintings by local artists.
- Roxy: This is the smallest cinema at the Sun. It is one of three lounge cinemas. It has only 20 leather lounge seats. The walls have a special art deco style.
- St. Georges: Named after a closed theatre in Yarraville. This cinema is small and has two levels. It has couch seating. At the entrance, there is a painting by Wassily Kandinsky called St. Georges.
Interesting Facts About the Sun Theatre
- The Sun Theatre was the first cinema in Melbourne to have a special sloped floor. This allowed for a new way of arranging seats.
- The Mayor of Footscray, Cr. Free, officially opened the theatre.
- During the 13 years it was abandoned, much of the theatre's inside was ruined. The fancy ceiling fell down. White ants damaged the wood. There were big holes in the roof. Graffiti, rot, and general damage were everywhere. The building's decorative doors and other features were stolen. Walls were falling apart. The basement furnace room was completely underwater. The building looked like a burnt shell because of several fires. People believe these fires were set on purpose.
- When the Sun Theatre was abandoned, it appeared in a music video. This was for the song "Streets of Your Town" by the band The Go-Betweens.
- The Sun neon sign is above the theatre's roof. You can see it from many places around Yarraville. You can even see it from the Westgate Bridge. It has become a famous symbol of Yarraville.
- In 2016, famous actors Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kurt Russell made a surprise visit. The Sun Theatre was one of the few places in Australia showing their movie The Hateful 8 in a special 70mm format. Tarantino was impressed that the theatre got a proper 70mm projector just for his film. The actors were in Melbourne promoting the movie. They thought it would be a memorable experience for the audience.
- The Sun Theatre was used as a filming location for some inside scenes in the 2015 movie The Dressmaker. It pretended to be the "Dungatar Theatre." Its old-fashioned seating was perfect for a story set in the 1950s.
Fun Facts About the Sun Theatre
- The Sun Theatre was the first cinema in Melbourne to have a special sloped floor. This design helped everyone see the screen better. It also started the "Continental" way of seating, which means rows are wider with more space.
- The Mayor of Footscray, Cr. Free, officially opened the theatre.
- For 13 years, the Sun Theatre was left empty. During this time, much of its beautiful inside was ruined. The decorated ceiling fell down, and white ants ate the wood. There were big holes in the roof, and lots of graffiti. The building had also been stripped of its fancy doors and decorations. Walls were falling apart, and the basement was filled with water. The building even had several fires, which people think were set on purpose.
- When it was empty and falling apart, the Sun Theatre was shown in a music video. It was for the song "Streets of Your Town" by the band The Go-Betweens.
- The bright neon sign for the Sun Theatre is on top of the roof. You can see it from many places in Yarraville and nearby areas, even from the Westgate Bridge. This sign has become a famous symbol of Yarraville.
- In 2016, famous actors Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kurt Russell made a surprise visit to the Sun. They were in Melbourne to promote their film The Hateful 8. The Sun Theatre was one of the few places in Australia showing the movie in a special 70mm film format. The actors were very impressed that the theatre worked hard to get a proper 70mm projector just for their film. They wanted to give the audience a special memory.
- The Sun Theatre was used as a filming location for some inside scenes in the 2015 movie The Dressmaker. It pretended to be the "Dungatar Theatre" in the film. Its old-fashioned seating was perfect for a story set in the 1950s.
