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Astor Theatre 659 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley, WA - Previously The State Theatre & The Lyceum

Before it was known as the Astor Theatre, this iconic art deco theatre in the heart of Mount Lawley was renamed twice after it was built nearly 100 years ago. The former Lyceum Theatre was designed and built by Mount Lawley architect and builder Simon Alexander in 1919. In 1930 the Lyceum was taken over by Herbert ‘Mac’ McCrae, former manager of Universal Films and well-known Mount Lawley resident. He modernised the theatre and, to showcase the latest from Hollywood, installed state-of-the-art Raycophone sound equipment for ‘talkies’. Renamed State Theatre, it reopened on 20 September 1930. In the mid-1930s Mac commissioned Alfred Baxter Cox and William Leighton to redesign the State. Gone were the Edwardian arches and pediments and what Leighton described as ‘a highly ornate affair’, replaced with contemporary embellishments. The Astor’s auditorium remains Leighton’s most ornate.

The skilful remodelling, undertaken by Simon Alexander’s son John, added a grocery store on the corner, a millinery boutique, a confectionary and a beauty salon. After a five-month renovation the State Theatre reopened in May 1939 with a British comedy, Keep on Smiling, starring Gracie Fields.

In June 1941 the state government decreed no privately-owned building could use the designation ‘State’, and the theatre was renamed by John Alexander’s wife, Mavis, after the Astor Theatre in Townsville, Queensland. Demolition plans were halted by the fledgling Art Deco Society of WA which gained the Astor a National Trust classification. Sydney banker Ron Regan leased the theatre, effectively saving a damsel in distress. Regan contracted restoration architect Philip McAllister and spent four months and half a million dollars in an extensive upgrade and the cinema was reborn. The theatre’s popularity restored, in 1993 McAllister added a twin theatre. The Astor is now used to stage live performances, including Festival of Perth events.

‘The State Theatre 1939’ – Image from unknown source - Notes by Museum of Perth.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -