Bakery/Handkerchiefs/AV Simon Optometry/OPSM – Mosman, NSW
Formerly, this was AV Simon Optometry before OPSM took over Agent Smith style. AV Simon is still a part of it, and yet it’s an OPSM. But Agent Smith missed a spot…it’s anyone’s guess what the first word was, but what’s clear is that this shop used to sell handkerchiefs. There is little on this planet to match the repulsiveness of a handkerchief.
A long time ago, this was a bakery specialising in health foods. How ironic, given the owner:
SMH, 30 Nov 1932
How ironic too that it would end up hawking the unhealthiest products you could ever hope to buy, and I’m not talking about Transitions lenses. Seriously, there’s a reason those folks in the picture are walking away. They know.
Christian Science Reading Rooms/Duo – Mosman, NSW
Behold: Sydney’s only consecrated fashion boutique.
KFC/For Sale – Mosman, NSW
Mosman KFC – it’s been closed since 2004, presumably because it was on Military Road and wasn’t a boutique fashion outlet. I think Mosman Council must have some kind of cull every now and then of shops that aren’t conforming to the Mosman style; prior to the 1950s, this site was a grand old house belonging to Mosman G.P. Dr. Geoffrey Mutton, complete with tennis court out the back. The tennis court is now the block of units at the top right of the picture, and here on Military Road we have the Colonel, now awaiting oblivion/development.
You can tell this outlet is old because it doesn’t feature or allow for a drive-thru system, and apparently it also acted as a car dealership at some point. It’s notable in the illustrious history of KFC as being the recipient of a visit from Colonel Sanders himself in 1976:
Colonel Sanders visits KFC Mosman, 1976. Image courtesy Gary Graham / Archive News Ltd.
Put some gloves on, Colonel.
Anzac Memorial Hall/Country Road – Mosman, NSW
Just in time for Anzac Day (whoops), here we have Mosman’s Anzac Memorial Hall. Built in 1922, it appears to have existed as the memorial hall until 1934, when it became the Kings Theatre (NOT the New Kings Theatre, which opened in 1937). Strangely, to make room for the cinema, the Mosman RSL vacated this building and moved into…a different cinema, the Mosman Kinematheatre, which was further along Military Road.
These days, this memorial hall is now a Country Road fashion outlet, allowing shoppers the opportunity to observe a minute’s silence as well as the latest winter looks.
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.
Past/Lives of the Near Future 