Metro, Adelaide, 1939, only Australian MGM cinema to have superb fittings sent from USA; interior gutted in 1975
The Hindley Street facade of Metro Theatre art deco cinema in Adelaide city resembled a mini 1930s skyscraper.
Image courtesy Cinema treasures
The Metro Theatre art deco cinema, opened in Hindley Street, Adelaide city, in 1939, was the only MGM Metro theatre in Australia to be equipped with fittings (including heating units) sent out from the United States of America.
Adelaide’s Metro Theatre was designed for MGM (Metro Godwyn Mayer) by noted American theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb, in association with local architect F. Kenneth Milne.
The Metro Theatre opened on October 6, 1939, with a seating capacity for 1,286 patrons in airconditioned comfort in the stalls, dress circle and lounge. The seating was uniform throughout with air-cushioned seats upholstered in sea-blue moquette, toned with the pastel brown, beige and gold of the auditorium and the rich burgundy carpets. On each side of the proscenium, four indented columns diffused the amber light towards the ceiling. The opening attraction was MGM’s Sweethearts, with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, plus a James A. Fitzpatrick travelogue Glimpses of Australia.
The Hindley Street facade was reminiscent of a mini 1930s skyscraper. A large marquee with neon-strip lighting and back-lit cut-out letters adorned the main entrance. In 1954, CinemaScope was installed and the original proscenium widened. A new waterfall curtain in gold crushed velvet was a beautiful feature of the newly designed stage area.
The Metro Theatre didn’t survive the impact of television.
In 1975, the interior of the Metro Theatre was gutted for a four-cinema complex for Greater Union Theatres, opened as the Hindley Cinemas 1-4 in August 1975. The cinemas ranged from Cinema 1 (seating 571) to Cinema 4 (284). The front of the building was painted purple and the foyer also covered in purple carpet. It closed in 1991 and, for a while, became a nightclub.
For many years. the building remained empty and was demolished in 2005 to make way for an apartment hotel/backpacker accommodation.
