engineering

Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade

Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade rather than just read about it. In short: The Piccadilly Cinema Centre (formerly Piccadilly Theatre) and Piccadilly Arcade are located at 700-704 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, designed by architect William T.

Key takeaways

Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Piccadilly Cinema Centre (formerly Piccadilly Theatre) and Piccadilly Arcade are located at 700-704 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It is an art deco style cinema and shopping arcade, designed by architect William T. Leighton for mining entrepreneur Claude de Bernales. The theatre and arcade opened in 1938, with the arcade connecting Hay Street through to Murray Street. In 1984 the theatre and arcade underwent a significant refurbishment, with the refurbishment winning an architectural award from the Royal Australian Institute of Architecture (WA Chapter) in 1986. The theatre and arcade are classified by the National Trust of Australia and are included on the State Heritage Register. The Piccadilly Cinema was the last operating cinema in the Perth central business district before its closure in 2013 and until the opening of Raine Square's Palace Cinema in 2018. Following a three-year refurbishment and renovation, the arcade was reopened in November 2021.

History The Piccadilly Theatre is one of a number of theatres and cinemas constructed in Perth and its suburbs during the Inter-war period. Originally constructed in the Inter-war Functionalist style, the Piccadilly represented the desire for enjoyment and entertainment displayed by Western Australians towards the end of the Depression. At the time of its construction, the place was fitted out with the most modern features and was the first cinema in Western Australia to be air conditioned. The site was acquired by Claude Albo de Bernales's Australian Machinery and Investment Company Ltd in 1935. Bernales, after completing the construction of London Court in July 1937, turned his attention to his property between Hay and Murray Streets. He set up Piccadilly Arcade Pty Ltd and engaged architects Alfred Baxter Cox and Leighton to design a theatre and shopping arcade for the site. The construction of Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade utilised part of the existing buildings on the site, with the construction contract going to a local firm, General Construction Company. Piccadilly Arcade opened in February 1938, with the theatre opening a month later, on 10 March 1938. When it opened, the theatre had a seating capacity of 1,100. The theatre and arcade feature a number of bas relief friezes of dancing girls and 'Atlas type' figures which were moulded by Perth sculptor Edward Kohler. Kohler was the second professionally trained sculptor to practise successfully in Western Australia. Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade remained under the ownership of Piccadilly Arcade Pty Ltd until 1978, when it changed hands a few times. In 1983, the owners Australian Fixed Trust (Permanent Trustee Nominees, Canberra) made a decision to restore Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade, and it was closed for refurbishment. Perth architect, Ian Tucker, was responsible for the work. The theatre and arcade reopened in March 1984. The A$2 million refurbishment won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (WA Chapter) 'Architecture Design Award for Renovated Buildings' in 1986. Following the refurbishment, Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade was purchased for a reported $9.9 million by Alister Norwood, founder of Jeans West. In 1989 the cinema was sold by Hoyts to Glen Darlington, of Classic Cinemas, and closed briefly in early 1990. Malcolm Leech then took over the lease, and converted a section of the disused stalls into a small cinema, making the Piccadilly into a twin screen, seating 443 and 165 respectively. Leech subsequently converted the cinema into a triplex by adding a third cinema, with 103 seats, behind the main screen. In May 2001 Leech leased it to Dennis McKenna. In 1992, Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade was purchased by current owners Winston Holdings Pty Ltd, Su-Rama Holdings Pty Ltd and Ayoman Pty Ltd, as tenants in common. In March 2005 the operation of the cinema was taken over by Cyril Watson, with the previous tenant, McKenna, leaving the cinema in 2004 with large unpaid debts. On 23 March 2010, a thunder storm with conditions not seen in almost fifty years damaged the cinema, forcing its temporary closure. The cinema re-opened after repair works were completed on 1 April 2010. In May 2013, it was revealed that a portion of the cinema's roof had collapsed due to poor maintenance. In September 2013, the current leaseholder of the cinema, Cyril Watson, announced that the cinema would close at the end of the September school holidays. It is reportedly $400,000 in debt for unpaid rent. The cinema space re-opened briefly in 2014 as the Noodle Palace venue as part of the Fringe World Festival. The last film screened to a paying audience was part of the Fringe World show, When God Met Satan, and was directed by Levon J Polinelli. It has also been used as a retail space and kickboxing studio. In October 2018, a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the cinema and arcade was confirmed. The cinema was to be converted to a live performance theatre with a lounge and bar, and the arcade new lighting, flooring and shopfronts. Tenders for a builder closed in October 2018 and work was expected to begin in January 2018. The City of Perth approved a $665,575 heritage adaptive reuse grant to be provided over five years for the redevelopment. The redevelopment was completed in November 2021.

Heritage value The Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade was interim listed on the Register of the National Estate on 5 December 1988 and classified by the National Trust of Australia (WA) on 5 December 1988. The building(s) were also included on the City of Perth's Municipal Inventory on 13 March 2001 and were permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places on 20 December 2002 by the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

Haunting The complex is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a former manager.

References

Further reading A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present Apperly, R., Irving, R. and Reynolds (1989) North Ryde, Angus and Robertson Perth: A Cinema History Bell, M.D (1986) Sussex, Book Guild Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia : Geneve, V. 'William Thomas Leighton: Cinema Architect of the 1930s' in Bromfield, D. (ed.) 1988, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia : Taylor, Robyn. 'Edward F Kohler, Perth Sculptor 1890-1964' in Bromfield, David (ed.) 1988, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands

External links

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade

In research: Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Art Deco architecture in Western Australia, Buildings and structures completed in 1938, Cinemas in Perth, Western Australia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade in simple terms?

Why does Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade.