New Kings Theatre/Greater Union/For Lease – Mosman, NSW
The New Kings Theatre, Mosman, 1937. Image courtesy State Library of NSW.
Over the years, the New Kings Theatre at Mosman went by a variety of names – the Kings, the Classic – until it was finally caught in the current of progress in 1976. The Village cinema chain took over the art deco theatre that year, and it ran in friendly competition with its nearby contemporary, the Cremorne Orpheum.
But in a story that’s all too familiar in the world of old theatres, suits suddenly appeared on the scene and started making decisions on behalf of business. Greater Union demolished the New Classic Kings Village in 1986, a move which shocked the community. The twin cinema that replaced it opened in 1988 to much fanfare; so cheesy and contrived was the whole venture that even the cinema’s phone number was 9969 1988. Sheesh.
On paper, you’d think replacing an old 30s single screen picture theatre with a modern twin would be like printing money, but 23 years after its grand opening, the Greater Union Mosman was printing termination notices for its staff.
The GU’s profits didn’t come anywhere close to those at the still-vintage Cremorne Orpheum, and in 2011 the twin closed its doors for the final time. It’s currently waiting, like much of Mosman’s shopping district, to be demolished and redeveloped into residential/commercial towers, but until that happens it stands as a testament to the Orpheum’s appeal and triumph over progress.
Movietek/Blockbuster Video/For Lease – Surry Hills, NSW
Yet another dead video shop, this ex-Blockbuster has the distinction of having taken over the location from another video shop before running it into the ground. Are Blockbuster stickers and signs really hard to get off or something? Did they foolishly build them to last?
Ah, neon. This is the first and only instance of a Movietek outlet I’ve come across, so it must have been one of the independents back in the golden era of video shops. Also of interest at this location is the second floor, which until around 2007 was a costume shop (imaginatively named The Costume Shop). Pardon the pun, but it’s fitting, given that Movietek put on a Blockbuster costume to try and swim in the deep end.
Movie Supermarket/For Lease – Hurstville, NSW
Only in that wondrous age that was the 1990s could a store like this flourish. Movie Supermarket at Hurstville was the place to go for obscure VHS tapes. The place was huge, like the Gould’s of videos, and carried things Video Ezy didn’t have. The first time I saw Faces of Death anywhere was in here, and it was unsettling. Even worse were the prices – you may be used to $5 DVDs in the bargain bin at JB Hifi these days, but back then movies on VHS cost upwards of $20 each.
And there were no two-disc special features director’s commentary editions in the VHS era either – those were reserved for the hardcore Laserdisc set. Movie Supermarket’s new videos came in at around $30, sometimes more. Their ex-rentals (mostly from the Video Ezy across the road) were a little cheaper, but for what you got it was criminal. Unfortunately, the only alternative back then was to tape a film off TV, and that required the film to be shown. Faces of Death III fans holding their breath for Channel 9 to screen their favourite film probably held on long enough to wind up in Faces of Death IV. If you weren’t satisfied with renting a film, if you HAD to own Lethal Weapon 2 on tape and you couldn’t wait for it to be shown, you coughed up $40 bucks at Movie Supermarket.
But neither time nor technology were kind to Movie Supermarket. The public’s whole-hearted embrace of DVD by 2001 left the original location here with stockpiles of useless, worthless VHS tapes. By 2007, the rent that the sale of a dozen brand new tapes would have covered could no longer be paid, and the shop moved two streets over to a much smaller location. They tried to get into the DVD market, but selling DVDs for $50 each was more of a 1999 thing to do. The Movie Supermarket website is dated 2009, but as far as I could see the shop no longer exists. I hope someone filmed the closure, Faces of Death VII could use some more material.
Civic Video/For Lease – Menai, NSW
Video shops have been in their death throes for longer than the dinosaurs were. It’s not just that better technology came along – VHS fended off advances from Beta and Laserdisc during its prime. Many video shops made the switch to DVD relatively painlessly, although it usually required a company name change. DVD Ezy just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
The death of this Civic in particular seems like it was protracted and painful – first it had to concede half its space to the Japanese before finally giving up the ghost, kinda like the USA’s auto industry in the 80s. Many video shops downsized as a first defence against the inevitable – DVDs take up less room on the shelves.
There weren’t any overdues lying on the floor inside. I’d say a few lucky individuals just scored themselves free scratched copies of The Real Cancun or Ice Age. The real reason video shops died out is because people suddenly realised they were sick of paying too much for DVDs that barely worked, sick of wasting time looking for titles shops didn’t have, and sick of trying to hide their tears as they glanced at the forlorn $1-each ex-rental VHS section. Yes, that collective realisation was Civic’s ice age.
John B. White Surveyors/For Lease (UNDER OFFER) – Hurstville, NSW
Up at number 67 Kimberley Road is another 1926 monolith. It’s for lease, but it’s UNDER OFFER. Good luck…
…because as we all know, it’s the buildings John B. White & Associates Surveyors reject that make John B. White & Associates Surveyors the best. Once again, Trove appears to save us from apparent boredom:
Image from Sydney Morning Herald 6 Sep 1933/Trove.
LEASED!
Past/Lives of the Near Future 