Documentary to revive lost Summer Hill 'picture palace' landmark

But those who grew up in Summer Hill have fond memories of the Summer Hill Theatre, a 1930s "picture palace" which stood on the site until it was demolished in 1971, six years before the Heritage Act was created. Summer Hill local Kerrie Bush said during the 1950s the theatre "was the place to go" and she would go there every Saturday with a group of family and friends.

"There'd be myself and my older sister, the two boys from next door and my two cousins who lived in Leichhardt and some of their neighbours. That used to be the Saturday afternoon ritual," she said.

"It was a busy place, and going to the pictures in those days was a big thing. It was an all afternoon activity - there'd be a cartoon, then an interval, then the main feature."

Now, more than 50 years after its demolition, theatre consultant and filmmaker Paul Brennan is working on a documentary to be released in May which tells the theatre's story and brings the lost landmark back to life with painstakingly created CGI renderings. He has his own fond memories of the cinema, exploring it as a teenager after it closed down.

"I got into the theatre when I was 15 and it was about to be demolished, but it was all intact. It had seats, it had carpets, it had plasterwork - everything was there. I was in shock. Even then I thought they can't afford to knock this down, it's a castle," he said.

The cinema was designed in the Spanish Baroque style by Balmain-born Emil Sodersten, the architect also responsible for many landmark Potts Point art deco apartment buildings. Opened in 1930, the interior of the 2043-seat auditorium - about the same capacity as today's Lyric and Capitol theatres - was decorated with masonic symbols, urns, gargoyles and a huge chandelier.

The cinema rebranded as the Grosvenor Theatre in 1959 only to close down in January 1960 when it was turned into a warehouse to store canned salmon until January 1962.

"I imagine it was the most gorgeous salmon storage facility in Sydney," said Mr Brennan.

"The theatre was just standing there with a million cans of salmon on the downstairs floor, it destroyed the floor and made it buckle and break. Then the McDonald family rented it and started showing movies again and it was run as Sydney's first arthouse and classics cinema, it was very popular. It looked shabby, but it was still in good shape."

Film buff Gary Zantos used to travel in to Summer Hill from Glebe to see "retro" films there in the 1960s: "The ambience of the theatre was like walking into a palace, I remember there were always a lot of people. I was very sorry when it finally closed."

Another independent operator took over the cinema in 1966 for a final run showing Greek and Italian films until 1969 when it closed for good. Council inspectors said the building wasn't safe and the owners decided to close and demolish it, despite protest from the community.

"Everybody was horrified that this beautiful old picture theatre was being demolished," said Barbara Konkolowicz, a Summer Hill local who remembers joining the protests.

Gail Ward, whose husband John Ward went on to become mayor of Ashfield Council in 1991, was also part of the protests.

"I remember telling one of the workmen who was demolishing the building that I'd love the statue from the facade, he asked if I had $100 and unfortunately I didn't- so he just threw it down from the roof and smashed it," she said.

Mr Brennan said Ashfield Council's focus on modernising the area in the 1970s was what ultimately led to the icon's demise along with other art deco buildings including the King's Theatre in Ashfield and the old Ashfield Town Hall.

"How on God's Earth anyone could stand there and look at that building and say 'let's get rid of it' I don't know. But that's our values as opposed to 1970s values," he said.

After the theatre was demolished the land sat unused until 1986 when the two-storey office which remains to this day was built. A 1993 heritage study prepared for Ashfield Council called the building "disruptive" to the street's character and "a testament to a lack of proper consideration by a consent authority".

While the landmark cinema was lost to time, Mr Brennan hopes his documentary and the digitally re-created interiors and exteriors will keep its memory alive and show it off in all its grandeur to a new generation of inner westies.

"It should have been there to become a major civic asset for Summer Hill, something for locals to be proud of."

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