Melbourne's iconic art deco theatre The Astor re-opens to public
/ By Clare RawlinsonAlmost a decade of uncertainty ended on Thursday night when Melbourne's much-loved art deco cinema, The Astor, reopened to the public for film screenings.
The 1936 theatre in St Kilda is one of the few remaining cinemas in Australia where movies produced on celluloid film can be screened.
The Astor has changed hands three times over the past 10 years and was close to closing its doors for good earlier this year after a dispute between the former manager and the owner.
"At that point it was uncertain what the future of the cinema would be until Benjamin Zeccola, the CEO of Palace Cinemas, got Palace involved with the Astor," film critic and new director of The Astor, Zak Hepburn, said.
After being out of action for one month, Palace Cinemas took over the management in June and has since renovated the interior to its original character.
Now that it has reopened, new versions of the theatre's famous film calendars will be printed for fans to stick on the back of bathroom doors across Melbourne.
"It's a staple of any white porcelain wall in Melbourne," Mr Hepburn said.
Mr Hepburn, who has been watching films at The Astor for as long as he can remember said he was thrilled to be involved in a new era for the iconic cinema.
"Rather than it being a dormant cinema location we are preserving the legacy that so many Melbournians and people all around the world cherish," he said.
"Being able to engage in film in that single screen context is a real rarity in today's cinema world."
Shirley Rowe, 88, was just 10 years old when she went to the Astor on its opening.
"I was just awestruck really. It was the first time I'd been to an adult event," she said.
Ms Rowe and her brother Billy Bugg said the Astor was like a "family treasure" because it was still like it was in the beginning.
"So many places these days are ruined or knocked down and it's so wonderful that it's going to keep going," she said.
"It's actually an avenue for all these wonderful old films that my great grandchildren wouldn't see otherwise."
Thursday's opening gala screened an Australian documentary film, Women He's Undressed, which explored the career of three-time Academy Award winning Australian costume designer, Orry-Kelly.
The theatre will continue to operate as a single-screen cinema - welcome news to the Friends of the Astor members who have campaigned over the years to keep the cinema's integrity intact.