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Sun Theatre
6-12 Ballarat Road YARRAVILLE, Maribyrnong City

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Maribyrnong City
VHR 679 Ballarat St
VHR 679 Ballarat St
VHR 679 Ballarat St
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Statement of Significance

Statement of Significance - Note: this SOS is an extract from the Footscray Conservation Study,1989. Substantial restoration has been undertaken on the site and the SOS is now outdated.

By elimination, the Sun Theatre remains (albeit on a small scale and partly destroyed) as the most successful fully articulated (internally and externally) privately owned Victorian example of the streamlined Modern style. This style (known also. as 'Art Deco') is closely associated with the. public's concept of cinema architecture. By comparison, the free-standing United Kingdom Hotel, Clifton Hill, is a superior example of the style but in a use which does not encourage full expression of the fluid Curves, inside and out. The Sun also forms part of a valuable civic-commercial precinct, distinguished by its layout and individually notable buildings. Historically, among the few cinema buildings of the West, this is perhaps the most remembered and is identified with a socially active local family (Yeomans).

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    • Physical Description 1

      Sun Theatre - Physical Description 1

      Comprising a two-level cream brick and cement facade onto Ballarat Street, propped against a more austere auditorium carcass, the cinema as is most contemporaries purely a facade with (former) interior delights. The canopy is plain, with a geometric patterned metal soffit and below it is austere manganese brickwork, separating the 12 glazed entry doors and two glazed shopfronts. Above the canopy is the building's character. A 'vertical feature' (with ribs) balances a strong horizontal thrust carried out in cement render. Interspersed are lesser fins, punctuated with small rectangular windows and counterpoised with a large round one. The words 'Sun Theatre' and 'Sun' are in bas-relief, and the sun itself is fabricated from metal with neon tubes following its rays inside.

      Note: this is an extract from the Footscray Conservation Study,1989. Substantial restoration has been undertaken on the site andas such the descriptionmay be outdated.



      Integrity

      Sun Theatre - Integrity

      External Integrity: The cinema is, and has been, sadly neglected with little attention to basic maintenance. Worse the interior has been left unsecured and has been burnt out at least twice; the roof has been left open. Despite all of this the internal moulded plaster walls survive as does the parabolic floor, albeit in a poor state. Externally the paintwork canopy and glazing need repair.

      Note: this is an extract from the Footscray Conservation Study,1989. Substantial restoration has been undertaken on the site andas such the descriptionis nowoutdated.

      Physical Description 2

      Sun Theatre - Physical Description 2

      Streetscape
      Relates to the adjacent buildings on the south in siting and use of cement and face-brick but is more importantly one of the major elements in the notable Ballarat Street civic-commercial precinct.

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Maribyrnong - City of Footscray Urban Conservation Study

      Author: Graeme Butler
      Year: 1989
      Grading:

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