Name of institution |
Ambassador's Theatre |
Type of institution |
Cinema |
Street Address |
Hay Street |
City |
Perth |
State |
Western Australia |
Postcode |
6000
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Country |
Australia |
Name of building |
Ambassador's Theatre |
Name of room |
Ambassador's Theatre |
Dates of the building |
1928 |
Architect’s and builder’s names |
Bohringer, Taylor and Johnson |
Special architectural features |
The
Ambassador’s theatre with a wide frontage in Hay Street,
Perth was built for Union Theatres Ltd, opening on 29th September
1928. In 1938 Union Theatres withdrew from participation in
cinemas in Western Australia, and Greater Union did not make a return
to that state until the 1970s. Hoyts Theatres Ltd took over the
management of the Ambassador’s, selling the lease it had on
Perth’s Regent theatre. Hoyts carried out some refurbishment,
employing architect William Leighton (who had worked with the Bohringer
firm) - he stripped “much of the flamboyant air from the
interior”, and provided a more modern streetscape façade.
The theatre finally closed on 4th February 1972 and was then demolished. |
Special fittings |
The theatre was another in the “atmospheric style” with the theme of a
Florentine garden, similar to but smaller than the Capitol theatre in
Sydney, New South Wales. Parochial debates took place as to which was
the better. |
Other location information |
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Name of contact |
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Mailing Address |
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Telephone |
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Email |
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Other contact information |
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Previous organ(s) |
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Date of previous organ |
None |
Detail of previous organ |
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Dates when key work has been undertaken |
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Dates of any moves that have taken place |
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Variations from original design of organ |
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Information on previous organ |
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Information about comparable instruments to previous organ |
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Present organ |
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Type of installation |
Front chambers |
Case description |
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Placement in room |
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Builder's name |
Wurlitzer Co., Tonawanda, N.Y., USA. |
Opus number |
1902 |
Date of completion/installation |
1928 |
Construction materials |
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Number of manuals |
Three (3) |
Key compasses |
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Number of keys |
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Key material |
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Pedal compass |
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Number of pedals |
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Pedalboard type |
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Pedalboard material |
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Type of chests |
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Type of key action |
Electro-pneumatic |
Type of stop action |
Electro-pneumatic |
Couplers |
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Tremulants |
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Accessories |
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Console type |
Remote horse-shoe style stopkey console |
Stop label material |
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Placement |
The console was on a hoist at the extreme left of the auditorium adjacent to the orchestra platform. |
General design |
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Playing aids |
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Divisions |
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Wind pressures |
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Stop list
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MAIN |
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Tuba Horn |
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Diapason |
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Clarinet |
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Viol |
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Celeste |
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Flute |
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Vox Humana |
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SOLO |
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Brass Trumpet |
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Tibia Clausa |
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String |
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Orchestral Oboe
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Kinura |
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Oboe Horn
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Quintadena |
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Brass Saxophone |
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Total number of stops |
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Total number of ranks |
15 ranks extended |
Total number of pipes |
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Dates when key work has been undertaken on current
organ |
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Dates of any moves that have taken place to current organ |
Removed 1946 to Regent
Theatre, Melbourne, and
incorporated into 4 mamual organ reconstructed by Lancelot Smith. |
Information on current organ |
When
the Ambassador’s opened in 1928 it was equipped with WurliTzer
theatre pipe organ, opus No. 1902, style 260, of 3 manuals and 15
ranks.
In all there were six style 260 WurliTzer organs came to be installed
in Australia. The organ was opened by Les Waldron. Other organists who
performed at the theatre included Jack Laing, Bernie Randall, Jimmie
Miller , Reubert Hayes and Stanfield Holliday.
In 1945 a disastrous fire gutted the prestigious Regent theatre in
Melbourne, Victoria, completely destroying its 4 manual 21 ranks
WurliTzer theatre organ (opus 2009). Hoyts reconstructed the Regent and
removed the Ambassador’s organ, reinstalling it in the Regent
with a rebuilt console and 4 added ranks from the Paramount theatre
(Melbourne) WurliTzer opus 359, as an organ of 4 manuals and 19 ranks.
The organ remained in the Regent until 1969 when it was sold.
The purchaser, organist Alan Tranter, placed the organ in storage and it has not been heard of again. |
Comparable instruments to current
organ |
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Current status |
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Assessment of organ |
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Other organs by this builder |
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Photographs |
Historical photograph of the organ console from the Australian Theatre Organs web site.
Photograps of the theatre exterior and stage from Theatre Organs under the Southern Cross.
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Technical documents |
Information about the theatre and organ from Rod Blackmore |
General documents |
An informative article on the renown organist Les Waldron was written by John Fuhrmann in April 2011. |
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Supporting information |
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Document control |
Original entries J R Elms, OAM,
Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs, 1971, 1999,2003 and 2004.
This entry D B Duncan 07 January 2009.
Additional article link added 22 May 2011.
Newspaper clip and photo of console sourced by Andrew Gardner 16 April 2020.
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