Rivoli Cinema

Located at 200 Camberwell Road, Rivoli Cinemas opened on 11 October 1940, with a showing of French Without Tears, starring Ray Milland. It had a capacity of 1,644 (Stalls 1004; Circle 640). It replaced a 1921 theatre of the same name, that had been located in Burke Road and designed by Frank Richardson. Robert McGleish, a notable figure in the Melbourne cinema scene of the time and manager of the first Rivoli, was responsible for the new cinema's construction and it was designed by architects H. Vivian Taylor & Soilleux. In 1968, it was the first cinema in Australia to be converted to twin auditoriums, enabling cinema goers to choose which movie to watch. The main auditorium was split with…

The Rivoli Cinemas is an excellent example of Streamline Moderne, also known as Art Moderne, the late 1930s version of Art Deco architecture. The interior of the cinema was the height of luxury when it opened, featuring a circular ticket hall on the lower level and dramatic circular staircase up to a lounge above, also an access point for the roof garden. The two-level auditorium had plaster walls and ceiling, constructed independently of the structure and considered to be an innovation. Grilles were added for decoration and to house acoustics, with lighting largely concealed behind plasterwork. Renovation work in 1999–2000, while adding substantial new areas to the building, retained…