Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image

PICTURE THEATRES. An excellent record of the rapid development of moving picture theatres is given in an article published by the Melbourne Argus. It is stated that four years ago there was only one important picture enterprise in Melbourne, but now there are more, than thirty well-equipped picture theatres in the city and suburbs. These buildings furnish accommodation for 50,000 persons, and there is rarely a vacant seat in any of them on a Saturday night during the winter months. During the summer the attendance at the indoor picture theatres is considerably smaller, but it is said that the difference is more than made up by the audiences that flock to the, open-air entertainments in all the suburbs. A low estimate places the attefldanee at 50,000 in tte summer. Including town halls and temporary buildings use*d .by picture proprietors, tliere are at least forty picture theatres in Melbourne and the suburbs, almost all of which are prettily decorated, well ventilated and furnished with comfortable seats. The accommodation •has been improved enormously since the early days' of the picture entertainments, but the charges for admission have remained stationary. The Argus says that the, average charge certainly does not exceed Is; and probably is nearer 9d, the price of seats ranging from 3d to 2s. Of course, the 300,000 people of Melbourne are not enjoying a monopoly of picture entertainments. There is at least one picture theatre in every country town in Victoria, and the number of touring entertainments is considerable. The vogue of the pictures is equally remarkable .: all through the \ Commonwealth. There are four large theatres within a stone's throw of each other in George street, Sydney, and a fifth, larger than any of them, is to be opened in a few weeks. The happiest hunting-ground of ihe pictures is to be found in the United States. There, it is said, 10,000 picture ; theatres have been erected in about five years and 10,000,000 new theatre-goers have, been created. Enterprising Ameri-, can entertainers claim that they are '•'providing the masses with wholesome entertainment at prices which suit every pocket," and their remarkable successes indicate the soundness of their judgment.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19120201.2.17

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 183, 1 February 1912, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
358

Untitled Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 183, 1 February 1912, Page 4

Untitled Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 183, 1 February 1912, Page 4

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert