[6] Completed at a cost of over £45,000, the Cremorne Orpheum Theatre was officially opened on 3 October 1935 by the local Member for Neutral Bay, Reginald Weaver.

[7][8] On its opening the Sydney Morning Herald noted that it was "designed on strictly modern lines, especially with regard to acoustic response and internal furnishings.

However in 1977 it had already been recognised for its heritage value by the National Trust of Australia (New South Wales), and its restoration was undertaken in 1987 led by John Love for a new owner, television personality Mike Walsh, at a cost of $2.5 million [10][11] The restoration works also transformed the theatre into a multiplex cinema, with the addition of a second screen in the former Ballroom area.

Rechristened as the "Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace", it reopened on 9 December 1987 with the feature Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

[10] The 1987 restoration also added a 1925 Wurlitzer pipe-organ that was originally installed in the Wilson Theatre in Fresno, California until 1973, and it is often played at selected film screenings.