Hoyts Arcadia Theatre

12 Bridge Street,
Sydney, NSW 2141

Unfavorite 1 person favorited this theater

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Hoyts Theatres, Western Suburbs Cinemas Ltd.

Firms: Leslie J. Buckland & Druce

Styles: Art Deco

Previous Names: Arcadia Theatre

Nearby Theaters

Hoyts Arcadia Theatre

Located in the south-western Sydney suburb of Lidcombe. The Arcadia Theatre opened on 5th May 1924, with seating for 1,200, all on a single level. In December 1925, a balcony was added which increased the seating capacity to 1,800.

Taken over by the Western Suburbs Cinemas chain in 1939, it was re-modelled in an Art Deco style to the plans of architectural firm Leslie J. Buckland & Druce. The Arcadia Theatre re-opened on 24th January 1940 with Merle Oberon in “Wuthering Heights” and Dennis O'Keefe in “The Kid From Texas”.

Taken over by the Hoyts Theatres chain in March 1944, they closed the Hoyts Arcadia Theatre on 1st May 1963 with Alec Guinness in “HMS Defiant”. It was converted into a supermarket, and was damaged by a fire in the early-1990’s.

Later it was in use as the Westella Reception Hall and they moved to new premises on New Street East in 2011. On 18th October 2014 the former Hoyts Arcadia Theatre was badly damaged by a fire.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on March 31, 2010 at 6:41 pm

A photograph of the Arcadia Theatre in the 1930’s, after being re-modeled:
View link

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on March 2, 2011 at 4:25 pm

thanks Ken.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on March 2, 2011 at 4:32 pm

Great vintage photo Ken.

rivest266
rivest266 on July 22, 2016 at 4:08 pm

January 24th, 1940 reopening ad in photo section.

AnthonyLeKoala
AnthonyLeKoala on October 16, 2020 at 4:50 am

While Lidcombe is a suburb of Sydney, to be precise, the venue is at 12 Bridge Street, Lidcombe NSW 2141, NOT 12 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2141. This is because there may be many streets in Sydney called Bridge St, for example Bridge Street Sydney may well refer to Bridge St City.

Sadly, the headline in Sydney’s “Daily Telegraph”, October 18, 2014 5:38pm, by Ian Walker was “Fire at Grand Westella reception centre in Lidcombe damages the building’s structure”.

Fortunately there were no injuries.

Thank you,
Anthony

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.