Lido Cabaret (fmr)

Statement of Significance

The Lido building has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: • the place has social significance as it served as a meeting place and centre of entertainment for over seventy five years. • the place provided a different form of social entertainment for the people of Perth during the Interwar period Aesthetic Value Despite having much of its external character removed, the Il Lido restaurant building is significant in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics of the Inter-War Art Deco style. The prominent internal decorative elements with their simple geometric Art Deco shapes are particularly striking and quite unique. The plainness and proportions of the exterior, stripped of its decorative elements still proclaims the modernity of the building’s heritage. [Criterion 1,1] The building’s prominent position facing the major intersection of Marine Parade and Forrest Street, the golf links and adjacent park, and the ocean, give it landmark quality and importance in the Cottesloe streetscape. [Criterion 1.3] Historic Value The building is significant as representing part of an important stage in the historical development of modernism in Western Australia and the residential suburbs of the city of Perth. [Criterion 2.2] The building is important for its association with the life and work of prominent pioneer modernist architect, Howard Bonner whose achievements have been significant within the history of the State. The cabaret has also been associated with the lives of many hundreds of West Australians as part of their early life and rites of passage. [Criterion 2.3] The prominent position and presence of the building signifies an important element in the historical development of the Cottesloe Beach area and of the attractions that drew people to it. In the 1930s Cottesloe Beach was a major holiday centre and place of entertainment for people from all over the state and the Il Lido was a significant part of this. The building was one of the first cabaret entertainment locations in Western Australia and the only one still standing. [Criterion 2.4] Scientific Value --------------- Social Value The Lido Cabaret and Restaurant has considerable importance as a social meeting place and centre of entertainment over a period of some seventy five years. It is important for the unique contribution to the social life of Perth in the interwar period that the building represents. Cottesloe Beach at that time was a major holiday centre for families from all over the state with numerous boarding houses and many beachside entertainments such as bumper cars, scooter boats refreshment booths and hire stalls. The tastefully decorated Lido was a popular meeting place and was said at the time to “fill a long felt want for some place to go after dinner, the theatre or dance, or round off a pleasant evening.”6 The building is significant because of the important place it represented in the social life of the citizens of the whole metropolitan area of Perth and beyond and the huge numbers of people who socialised and entertained there at every level. Over a period of more than two decades, the cabaret and restaurant that the building housed was arguably the premier late night entertainment venue in the state and played host to the burgeoning modern musical tastes of generations of West Australians. The bandleader Ron Jenkins and his musicians became as important to his generation of West Australians as any of the popstars of today and is intimately associated with the building, both working and living on the premises. Over many years the building also hosted many family gatherings and social events and from its inception in 1936 was said to provide “an ideal place for hostesses to arrange their parties, bridge afternoons, etc.”7 It is believed that Mrs Elsie Curtin, wife of the wartime Prime Minister, and who resided at Cottesloe, attended functions organised for Cottesloe matrons in the building. Rarity The Lido Cabaret building was the first purpose-built cabaret and restaurant building constructed in Western Australia, and was quite unique in its style and location as well as being uniquely integrated into an outdoor picture garden and oceanside setting. It is the only building of its type and purpose still in existence in the state and consequently is significant for its rarity. Condition The condition of the building is good and changes that have been made are considered largely reversible. Integrity The place has a high level of integrity as the functional areas of the original building are still in operation as a restaurant and the majority of the decorative elements are still highly visible as a strong feature of the interior. Authenticity The place has a high degree of authenticity despite its several incarnations and some alteration. The main structure remains intact and the interior continues to serve its original function as a restaurant, although not a cabaret. The original tied cantilever awning that adorned the perimeter of the building has been removed, as have the stepped additions to the parapet wall. Also the accommodation above the restaurant has been replaced with a more modern structure set back where the projection room for the picture gardens was formerly situated. Alterations made are considered largely reversible. • the place has strong associations with the work of prominent architect, H. Howard Bonner, the Hatfield cinema circuit and a variety of local musicians including the musician/ bandleader, Ron Jenkins, popular singer Dane Gorn and ‘JT and the Jazzmen’ (John Thornton of the Regal Theatre).

Physical Description

Il Lido Restaurant operates in a substantial flat roofed, single storey brick building at 88 Marine Parade, Cottesloe, on the corner of Forrest Street, with a long elevation facing the main seaside promenade, providing a well known landmark at the heart of the iconic and popular Cottesloe Beach. Three pairs of large full-height windows on the west side of the building provide expansive views through the Norfolk Island Pine trees to the Cottesloe pier and the ocean with shipping at anchor and Rottnest Island in the distance. Two similar pairs of windows and a doorway face the tree-lined Forrest Street and the Seaview Golf Course. One of these window openings has been extended to the floor as an additional doorway. A broad-paved area on this side permits the establishment of an outdoor service area for dining or refreshment in the open air linked to the interior restaurant through the main entrance doorway in the chamfered corner of the building. Originally shaded by a tied-cantilever awning surrounding the building, the rendered and white-painted walls are topped with a low flush parapet and metal railing to the concrete flat roof terrace. This parapet was initially crowned with stepped height extensions (since removed) and featured contrasting face brick rectangular panels. The northern end of the building now includes a separate shop for the sale of ice-cream and light refreshments. Originally this area was the cabaret stage location and there was an upper floor providing accommodation for the owners. This accommodation was removed and replaced with a single storey, salmon brick apartment building with a shallow sloped corrugated asbestos roof. This apartment is set back on the roof terrace in place of the former cinema projection room and is linked to the three storey apartment block behind the restaurant that was built on the site of the former picture gardens. The interior of the restaurant features the original striking geometric Art Deco designs on the ceiling and the prominent beams which are clad in decorative plasterwork. The name of Il Lido is currently painted on a yellow band that wraps around both of the white painted street elevations of the building with the words Italian Canteen on the chamfered corner above the main entrance. The top of the parapet is recessed slightly and surmounted by steel railings protecting the roof terrace. Small bunker lights are placed at regular intervals along the top of the walls to illuminate the exterior. The timber framed windows are arranged in pairs with a shallow recess between each pair. Each window opening consists of three vertical panes and a horizontal hopper type panel above, and extends from a low sill to just below the lintol at ceiling height. The windows originally had single panes instead of the triple format and the exterior walls of both elevations were originally clad with dark ceramic tiles from pavement to the level of these window heads. Door heads were surmounted by stepped pyramid motifs. The cantilevered metal awning that ran completely around both street facades was tied back to the upper walls with steel tie rods. The face of this awning carried coloured neon lighting the full way around to the adjacent Lido Picture Gardens, which was said to be the most attractive venue of its type in the state. The ice cream shop now at the northern end of the building occupies the space that originally provided a stage for the dance band, and up until the 1960s had an upper floor above it providing accommodation for the owners. During the peak of the restaurant’s popularity this accommodation, which had three hooded windows facing west, was occupied by the band leader, Ron Jenkins. Mrs. Jean Hartz, who is the daughter of Lewis Hatfield, recalls that the nightclub operated as a large dance floor with numerous private logues and a raised platform at the northern end for the musicians.8 Later alterations by Harold Krantz (of Krantz and Sheldon, architects) removed this upper section as well as the bio-box and projection room (also on the flat roof of the restaurant) for the showing of the films to the Lido Picture Gardens. These structures were replaced with a single storey, salmon brick apartment building with a shallow sloped corrugated asbestos roof. This apartment is set back on the roof terrace and is linked to the three storey apartment block to the East that was built on the site of the former picture gardens. This apartment above the restaurant can also now be accessed by an outside brick staircase that rises from the courtyard of the apartments. Entrance to the restaurant is gained through double doors in the chamfered corner of the building, but for much of the time that the cabaret and restaurant were operating, patrons entered by a side door on the eastern end of the Forrest Street elevation. This door currently gives access to the manager’s office and the kitchen which is also situated at this eastern end of the building. Outstanding features of the interior of the restaurant are the original striking geometric Art Deco designs on the ceiling and the prominent beams which are clad in decorative plasterwork. These decorative elements are based largely on a chevron motif, popular in the 1930s. Other Art Deco decorative elements have since been removed as has the large fish tank that was an attractive feature on one wall of the cabaret room. The stage at the northern end of the restaurant that was used for the three-piece orchestra that played nightly for the cabaret is no longer in evidence as it has been walled off to create the ice cream shop.

History

Assessment 2011 (1930's building not upstairs accommodation) Construction 1935-36 Alterations/Additions 1960's The Lido Cabaret and Beach Restaurant and the associated Lido Picture Gardens were commissioned by Lewis Hatfield and designed in 1935 by prominent architect, H. Howard Bonner, who was also responsible for the Regent Metro Theatre in William Street, Perth (later replaced by the Metro Theatre), the Ambassadors Theatre, Hay Street, Perth and the Cottesloe Picture Theatre on Stirling Highway, Cottesloe, (now all demolished).1 Ann Darling, owner of the building in the 1980s, was quoted in the Cottesloe Post as saying that the Lido building replaced a weatherboard shop operated in 1913 by a Mrs McDonald as a Beach Café2 and according to Mrs. Jean Hartz (nee Hatfield) the original weatherboard building was taken down piece by piece and re-built at Rockingham.3 Throughout the 1940s and 50s the Lido Cabaret was hugely popular, with capacity crowds every night and patronised by all classes and ages. Ron Jenkins and his dance band were a big drawcard and played all the popular music of the times with Rock & Roll for the young on Friday nights and more sophisticated swing for the parents on Saturday nights.4 Local singer Dane Gorn was a popular regular and John Thornton (now Regal Theatre) featured with ‘JT and the Jazzmen’. According to Cottesloe historian, Ruth Marchant James, the Lido was also hugely popular with many American servicemen who were stationed in Perth during WWII. 5 The Lido Picture Gardens closed in 1958 and the cabaret building was closed not long after as part of the redevelopment of the picture gardens site. After the alterations to the building and the construction of the block of adjacent apartments (in the 1960s?) the former Lido building re-opened as the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant which operated successfully until 1998. It was then taken over by Ann Darling who re-opened it as La Tropicana Café, catering to beachgoers and locals. In 2008 the building returned to the name Lido, this time with the Italian prefix ‘Il Lido’ and became the Italian canteen type restaurant that is currently one of the popular places to go to see and be seen. The restaurant is especially busy during the ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ exhibitions where it is at the centre of the action. When the Lido Cabaret opened in 1936 it was hailed in the press, (SundayTimes 15 March 1936) as “Tastefully decorated and furnished, the beautiful new Lido is an ideal place for hostesses to arrange their parties, bridge afternoons etc.”, and it was said that it “will fill a long felt-want for some place to go after dinner, the theatre or dance, or round off a pleasant evening.” … “The dinner and supper dances are proving a popular method of entertaining one’s friends, as these are held every night.” Mrs. Jean Hartz, who is the daughter of Lewis Hatfield, recalls that the nightclub operated as a large dance floor with numerous private logues and a raised platform at the northern end for the musicians, originally Harry Bluck and his dance band but subsequently Ron Jenkins and his band. Jean Hartz and husband Alec Hartz lived over the restaurant and managed and operated the picture gardens adjacent to the Cabaret. The cabaret venue was announced in the Sunday Times to be “now under the personal supervision of Mr Albert F. King, late manager of Rules, London, and Childs, New York, and who has been connected with cabarets and cafes in most of the principal holiday resorts of the world.” On 23 January 1938, the Sunday Times commented on new management at the Lido saying that “The surroundings are perfect and the floor ideal for dancing, and a popular orchestra provides music nightly. A Continental chef provides delectable meals for the large crowds that nightly patronise this cabaret.” Ron Jenkins and his Dance Band, became the principal drawcard of the cabaret. They were hugely successful and had a considerable following of many fans. In the 1940s and 1950s Ron Jenkins, who occupied the apartment above the cabaret, was at the peak of his career and became a household name. It was stated in the press that “the venue he made the most popular in the State was the Lido Coral Room at Cottesloe.” The band specialised in madcap antics with crazy hats and outlandish costumes as well as playing the popular music of the time. The Cottesloe Post, reported (14 August 2004) “In the 1940s, dancers flocked to the Lido on Marine Parade to hear the music of latest heart-throb, Frank Sinatra, along with dance favourites from Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael and Bing Crosby.”. According to Cottesloe resident and former projectionist at the Lido Picture Gardens, Lynn Huxtable, “the Friday night programmes of Rock & Roll, Jive and Jitterbug events were so popular that the place was packed and people couldn’t get in”. .“Saturday nights”, Huxtable said, “were reserved for the somewhat older patrons who preferred ballroom dancing”. According to Cottesloe historian, Ruth Marchant James, the Lido was also hugely popular with many American servicemen who were stationed in Perth during WWII. “Past journalists insist that Western Australia’s first female stripper made history when she performed at the Lido Coral Room in a topless evening gown.”9 When well known local architect Geoff Summerhayes was visiting Japan in more recent years he had a chance discussion with a former Japanese admiral who told him that during WW11 he had been in command of a submarine that penetrated the waters between Cottesloe and Rottnest and that they had surfaced to recharge their batteries and enjoyed listening to the music from the Lido coming across the water.10 Lynn Huxtable says that because the projection room for the adjacent Lido Picture Gardens was situated on the roof of the Lido restaurant the assistant projectionist had no alternative but to carry the heavy steel canisters loaded with spools of film through the restaurant kitchen, up the staircase that led to the gents’ toilet, through the switch room and then up a steep steel ladder to get to the bio-box and rewinding room. During the times when the films were being shown at the picture gardens, the restaurant was obliged to close off a sliding kitchen window to shut out the film sound. This made conditions rather unbearable during the summer months. Nevertheless, although there was a kiosk inside the picture gardens, run by Alec and Jean Hartz, an employee at the restaurant never failed to pass refreshments through the sliding window to the projectionist and his assistant who had worked so hard to keep the picture show running. It was whilst working at the bio box over the restaurant that the projectionists noticed that young guests from the Hostel Manly next door to the Lido were able to watch the movies from the adjacent hostel verandah and were making a lot of noise. Lynn Huxtable recalls that Alec Hartz erected a trellis fence and grew a grapevine to block viewing from the verandah. After the war, audiences at the adjacent Lido Picture Gardens declined, particularly with the introduction of later bar opening at hotels, television and the Drive-ins, and eventually closed in 1958. Patronage of the cabaret also dropped off and the building was closed whilst redevelopment of the picture gardens site and new accommodation over the cabaret building was constructed. After the alterations to the building and the construction of the block of adjacent apartments (in the 1960s?) the former Lido building re-opened as the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant which operated successfully until 1998 when the building complex was auctioned and was taken over by Ann Darling who opened it as La Tropicana Café, catering to beachgoers and locals. Five months after Ann’s purchase in November/December 1998, The Cottesloe Post reported that the café was filled with all manner of eclectic items and “the People are as varied as the décor. Mothers with toddlers are meeting for coffee (there’s an excellent play area filled with toys for the kids), there are surfies, hippies and families up from the beach, there are lunching business men with mobile phones pasted to their ears, single people happily engrossed in books and a couple of friends settling in for an afternoon’s chess.”11 In 2008 the building returned to the name Lido, this time with the Italian prefix ‘Il Lido’ and became the current popular Italian canteen type restaurant. Patrons sit at long jarrah tables that span the width of the room and can enjoy a sociable coffee whilst perusing the newspaper or an excellent meal with a good selection of wines while enjoying the ocean views through the large windows or from the al fresco dining area under a beach umbrella. The restaurant is especially busy during the ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ exhibitions where it is at the centre of the action.

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