Plaza Theatre (Perth)

Plaza Theatre and Arcade
Hay Street Mall entrance to Plaza Arcade
Alternative names	Paris Theatre
General information
Architectural style	Streamline Moderne/Art Deco
Town or city	Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia
Country	Australia
Coordinates	31°57′15″S 115°51′34″E / 31.9541°S 115.85932°E / -31.9541; 115.85932Coordinates: 31°57′15″S 115°51′34″E / 31.9541°S 115.85932°E / -31.9541; 115.85932
Inaugurated	17 September 1937
Client	Hoyts Theatres Ltd
Design and construction
Architect	William G. Bennett H. Vivian Taylor
Main contractor	E. Allwood (Theatre) W. Drabble Ltd (Arcade)

The former Plaza Theatre is located at 650-658 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It was the first purpose-designed Art Deco cinema in Perth. The Plaza Theatre opened in 1937 and was built for Hoyts Theatres Ltd.

The Plaza Theatre was opened on Hay Street on Friday 17 September 1937 with a seating capacity of 1,275 divided into lounge, circle and stalls. The first feature film screened at the theatre was Lloyd's of London. Built on the site of the former Majestic Picture Theatre, the theatre was part of a new arcade development linking Hay and Murray Streets. The arcade remains one of Perth's busiest, while the theatre has been closed and put to other uses in recent decades.

Designed by William G. Bennett in association with Melbourne's H. Vivian Taylor (Taylor & Soilleux), the facade of the theatre/arcade is narrow but dramatic, presenting a stylised skyscraper effect in classic art deco fashion. It opened a year in advance of the rival development of the Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade, located 60 metres further to the west on Hay Street.

Like its late-1930s rivals – the Piccadilly Theatre and the Metro Theatre (on William Street) – the Plaza offered a new level of comfort for Perth's movie-goers. Unlike the vast atmospheric Ambassadors Theatre (across the street from the Plaza) and the monumental Capitol Theatre (on William Street), the new-wave art deco cinemas were compact and stylishly modern.

In 1940 the Plaza was modernised and remodelled at a cost of ₤15,000. Further renovations, including the refurbishing of the interior and the installation of a Todd-AO sound system, were completed before the opening of South Pacific in 1960, which established a new long-run record for Perth of 45 weeks. The seating capacity of the theatre was reduced to less than one thousand in 1961. With increased capacity, a new screen and plusher appointments, the Plaza became Hoyts' premier theatre in Western Australia.