Enfield Savoy Theatre

The Enfield Savoy Theatre (previously the Enfield Cinema; subsequently the Hoyts Savoy Theatre; also known as the Enfield Savoy) was a theatre and cinema located at 306-308 Liverpool Road, Enfield, a suburb in the inner west region of Sydney, New South Wales. The building now functions as a hardware store.

Enfield Savoy Theatre

Enfield Cinema Hoyts Savoy Theatre Enfield Savoy
Enfield Savoy Theatre Location within Sydney
Address	306-308 Liverpool Road, Enfield Sydney, New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	33°53′16″S 151°07′21″E
Capacity	1,878
Current use	Hardware store
Construction
Opened	16 November 1927 (1927-11-16)
Closed	9 January 1960 (1960-01-09)
Architect	Clifford M. Chard, Lewis Kaberry, George Newton Kenworthy
Website
strathfieldheritage.org/recreation-and-shops/enfield-savoy-cinema/

History

Designed by the architectural firm Kaberry and Chard,[1] the theatre was opened on 16 November 1927, with a seating capacity of 1,878.[2] In 1928 Enfield Council valued the building at A£17,000.[1]

In 1930 there was an armed hold up at the theatre.[3] In 1932, Western Suburbs Cinemas Ltd, a company which also operated the Strathfield Melba and Homebush Theatre in Sydney’s western suburbs took over management of the Enfield Savoy.[1]

The theatre was redesigned in the Art Deco style in 1938.[4] The façade and interior were rebuilt under guidance of architect G N Kentworthy who also designed Cremorne Orpheum Theatre and a Christie organ was added and was opened by organist Dennis Palmistra.[2] The instrument was originally installed in the Hoyts De Luxe Theatre, Melbourne, then the Hoyts Plaza Theatre, Sydney.[1][2] The cinema was renamed the Savoy and reopened by the Mayor of Enfield in July 1938.[1]

In 1944 Western Suburbs Cinemas Ltd was taken over by Hoyts resulting in a name change to the Hoyts Savoy Theatre.[1]

The last film shown at the cinema was Some Like It Hot in 1960.[4][1]

It was converted into a carpet & furniture shop in 1981, and continues today as a plumbing & bathroom company.[5]

Later years

After the cinema closed, the building had various retail uses including Shoppers World (1960),[2] carpet and furniture store (1981),[2] Quality House, Whitewood Warehouse, and the Poliak Building Supply Company.[2][4]

A campaign in 2017 to list the building on the local heritage register was unsuccessful.[6]

References

1. "Enfield Savoy Cinema". Strathfield Heritage. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
2. Roe, Ken. "Hoyts Savoy Theatre in Sydney, AU - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
3. "SHOTS FIRED". The Maitland Daily Mercury (18, 534). New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1930. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Savoy Cinema/Quality House/Whitewood Warehouse/Poliak Building Supply Co. – Enfield, NSW". Past/Lives of the Near Future. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
5. "Hoyts Savoy Theatre". cinema treasures. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
6. McKee, Jillian (3 July 2017). "Two iconic theatres miss out on heritage listing". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

Further reading

• Cork, Kevin J. (1989), A history of the cinemas of Burwood Municipality (Rev. ed., and repr ed.), K. J. Cork, ISBN 978-0-9592753-2-2
• Valuation List: Assessment 991. Department of NSW Valuer-General. Government of New South Wales. 1 October 1928.