Local Government
Subiaco
Region
Metropolitan
212 Nicholson Rd Shenton Park
fmr Picture Gardens
Subiaco
Metropolitan
Constructed from 1923
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
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| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Grading/Management | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | ||||
| Local Heritage Survey | Adopted | 04 Feb 2003 | Little Significance (Level 4) | |
The place has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: • Notwithstanding the fact that it is significantly altered, the place has historic and social significance as the former Shenton Picture Gardens from 1923 and a supermarket serving the Shenton Park area from the 1960s. • The place has aesthetic significance as an example of a building that has been adapted to a new use and is a landmark in the local area.
212 Nicholson Road is a two-storey rendered brick mixed use building with a concealed corrugated steel roof. The building is located on the corner of Nicholson Road and Derby Road. The building is splayed at the corner with a zero setback and a parapet wall above. A cantilevered boxed awning extends around the splayed corner connecting back to the parapet. The external walls are rough rendered with face brick surrounds to windows and doorway openings. The external wall along Derby Road functions as a parapet with the inside wall set back from the outside face creating a cavity space. The eastern wall features double hung windows to the first floor and recessed entryways to the ground floor, enclosed by steel gates. The splayed corner features large shopfront windows with fixed glazing and a row of timber framed bifold doors addressing Nicholson Road. The site of the former picture gardens currently functions as a parking lot. The building is serviced to the rear by a laneway.
Formerly Shenton Picture Gardens from 1923, which was very popular during the Second World War. It was converted into a supermarket in the 1960s. It is now mixed commercial use and residential apartments. A c.1903 plan shows a vacant lot at 212 Nicholson Rd. Almost all the approximately 15 structures facing Nicholson Road at this time were on the south side. Although by 1907 Nicholson Road was described as the ‘new main road to Fremantle’, it was very slow to be developed. By 1910 there were 19 houses (plus the hotel) listed in the Post Office Directories on the south side of Nicholson Road and 22 houses on the north. Four of these properties had attached shops (2 on either side of the street). By 1920 there were 37 houses along the south side (plus the hotel and a drill hall) and 54 to the north (plus a maternity home). By 1940 this had increased to around 70 houses along the southern side and 100 along the northern. Films were being advertised at Shenton Picture Gardens, Nicholson Road by early 1923.4 Shenton Picture Gardens first appears in the Post Office Directories in this year, prior to which the Nicholson Road lots on the east side of Derby Road appear to have been unoccupied. Although listed as a Picture Gardens into the early 1940s, and advertised as an open-air cinema, the site also had a hall by at least 1927. It was referred to as both Shenton Park Theatre and Shenton Picture Gardens. From 1944, the Post Office Directory listing changed to Shenton Theatre. From 1935, the Post Office Directory listing for the theatre also named an individual running a ‘mixed business’. For two years this was Mrs V.F. Spence, before changing to Mrs J Steer, who remained for over a decade. She was sometimes listed as ‘confectioner’, suggesting the ‘mixed business’ was a sweets shop associated with the cinema. As electoral rolls do not list Mrs J Spence at 212 Nicholson Road, it is unlikely there was an onsite residence. In 1949, the business owner was listed as Mrs Pottier. Aerial photographs suggest a large cinema/ hall faced Nicholson Road and had zero setback from either Nicholson or Derby Road property boundaries, with an awning/ verandah wrapping the corner and overhanging the footpath. The picture gardens were located immediately east of this hall and was approximately the same size as it. The gardens remained in 1953 but may have been removed by the early 1960s. The building is believed to have been converted into a supermarket in the 1960s. A 1965 aerial photograph shows the former picture gardens in use as a carpark. The theatre appears unchanged externally through to the late 1980s. By 1995, major redevelopment had taken place (or was possibly still continuing in 1995), bring the building to its current form as a mixed use commercial and residential building. This matches the footprint and roofline of the earlier building, including the gabled main roof with a flat-roofed portion at the Nicholson Road end. An addition was also made east across the Nicholson Road end of the former picture gardens. The former picture gardens area became parking for the main building. Photographs from 1968 and 1972 show the building apparently without side windows or entrances. There appear to have been high windows along the rear (north) elevation.
Integrity - low Authenticity - low
Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in a good condition.
| Ref ID No | Ref Name | Ref Source | Ref Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Heritage Survey Place Record | Local Heritage Survey West Subiaco Precinct | 2022 |
Individual Building or Group
| Epoch | General | Specific |
|---|---|---|
| Present Use | SOCIAL\RECREATIONAL | Theatre or Cinema |
| Original Use | SOCIAL\RECREATIONAL | Theatre or Cinema |
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