The Story Of A Building: The Queens, The Hoyts Regent and The Metro
The Queens Hall in William Street .Perth was opened by the Premier Sir John Forrest on the 19th April 1899 for the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
The hall was used for church purposes on weekends and hired our for lectures and musical presentations for the rest of the time.
The first film exhibition took place on the 16th August 1899 by Commandant Booth of the Salvation Army and its Limelight Unit and in October 1901 the Melbourne productions of “Soldiers Of The Cross” was presented.
Cozens Spencer screened films from 1905 .
West’s Pictures from 1908 until 1911.
Vic’s Pictures 1911 until 1919.
The hall reverted to casual hire until Hoyt’s secured the lease in 1927 for their Perth Regent Theatre.The Queens Hall was rebuilt by the Methodist Church for Hoyt’s and was reopened on 10th September 1927, as the Hoyts Regent Theatre.
The theatre seated 2000 people and had an orchestra of 15 members.
The principal colour scheme was a combination of mauve, cyclamen and gold. Beautiful crystal glass chandeliers were fitted at intervals throughout.
On the 4th of August 1928. a Wurlitzer Organ was installed. which survived the various alterations of the theatre until 1973.
On the 6th April 1929 the Regent screened ” The Red Dance” using sound on film and the Prince of Wales “The Jazz Singer” on Vitaphone sound on disc.
In 1938 Hoyt’s relinquished the lease on the Regent, and Metro Goldwyn Mayer took over on the 13th May 1938.
The whole of the interior of the Regent theatre was gutted and redesigned and the front elevation was stripped of its former decoration and remodelled in the moderne Art Deco.
Metro Goldwyn Mayer opened the new Metro theatre on the 27th September 1938 with ” The Girl Of The Golden West”. The theatre seated 1500 people and was the first theatre in Perth to be air conditioned.
In 1954 a new wider proscenium for Cinemascope was installed.
The Metro continued to screen under the MGM banner until 1970 when Ace theatres took over the lease.
The Metro finally closed in October 1973 with “Gone With The Wind”
After 74 years of use the wreckers moved in and the building was demolished.