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Former Waverley Theatre

Other Name ABC Orchestra Studio Location 92 Waverley Road,, MALVERN EAST VIC 3145 - Property No B7006 File Number B7006 Level State

[1/1] B7006 Waverley Theatre

Statement of Significance

The former Waverley Theatre, designed by architects Cowper, Murphy & Appleford, and completed in 1936 is significant for architectural, aesthetic and historical reasons.
Historically, the cinema is important as one of the few extant examples of the moderne ('Art Deco') style cinema to remain in Victoria. After the Rivoli in Hawthorn, the Astor in St. Kilda, and the Sun in Yarraville, it is the most significant and intact.. Of the seven theatres designed by the Cowper, Murphy & Appleford in Melbourne between 1936 and 1941 only the Waverley and Sun Theatres survive.
The closure of the theatre in 1958 and its subsequent conversion into orchestral studios several years after the introduction of television reflects the declining popularity of the cinema in the post-war ear, but helped to retain the theatre reasonably intact up to the present..
Architecturally and aesthetically, the interior of the auditorium is one of the most striking examples of the 'zig-zag', or 'jazz' versions of the style of decoration popularly known as Art Deco in Victoria. Of the four most significant surviving Art Deco cinemas, it is unique for employing the steeped, zig-zig and waterfall motifs typical of Art Deco.
The theatre is also important for its association with a major form of popular entertainment in the twentieth century.
Classified: 06/09/1999