Ritz Cinema, Randwick

[3] Pre-1780s the local Aboriginal people in the area used the site for fishing and cultural activities; rock engravings, grinding grooves and middens remain in evidence.

[6] By the mid nineteenth century the traditional owners of this land had typically either moved inland in search of food and shelter, or had died as the result of European disease or confrontation with British colonisers.

[5][1] One of the earliest land grants in this area was made in 1824 to Captain Francis Marsh, who received 4.9 hectares (12 acres) bounded by the present Botany and High Streets, Alison and Belmore Roads.

The village was isolated from Sydney by swamps and sandhills, and although a horse-bus was operated by a man named Grice from the late 1850s, the journey was more a test of nerves than a pleasure jaunt.

The wealthy lived elegantly in large houses built when Pearce promoted Randwick and Coogee as a fashionable area.

An even poorer group were the immigrants who existed on the periphery of Randwick in a place called Irishtown, in the area now known as The Spot, around the junction of St.Paul's Street and Perouse Road.

Many European migrants have made their homes in the area, along with students and workers at the nearby University of NSW and the Prince of Wales Hospital.

[1] Following graduation Bolot worked for Hollinshed and Gailey and whilst there assisted on two notable theatre projects, the Melbourne Comedy and Brisbane Regent.

[1] After the war Bolot resumed work as an architect and in 1948 designed the landmark apartment building located at 17 Wylde Street, Potts Point.

[10]: para 2  However, Randwick City Council and the then Minister for Planning intervened and a Permanent Conservation Order was imposed on the Ritz building in March, 1993.

[3] The Ritz Theatre is constructed of brick with a galvanised iron roof supported on angle steel trusses.

The awning itself retains its original pressed metal soffit, or underside lining, which is wholly decorated with characteristic geometric Art Deco motifs in a regular repeated pattern.

The plaster decoration to the walls and ceiling is in geometric patterns in low relief with extensive use of grills and reveals.

The building has an excellent ability to interpret aspirations, uses, tastes and importance of cinema in the society of the 1930s It is the last known surviving theatre by A.M. Bolot.

[1] Ritz Theatre was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

The Ritz Theatre is one of the few surviving examples of the hundreds of cinema which were built during the 1930s, the most creative period of cinematic design in Australia.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

[12][1] The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Ritz Theatre is of scientific significance because it is an excellent record of a 1930s cinema which is substantially intact with all associated acoustic and ventilation panels, lighting systems, original materials and fabrics and projection room.

[14][1] The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Ritz, which has operated almost continuously as a movie theatre since 1937, has social values as a community cultural entertainment centre in the Randwick area.

The Ritz is significant for its intact and well detailed Art Deco design and is a prominent element in the St Paul's Road urban precinct ...[16] This Wikipedia article contains material from Ritz Theatre, entry number 00348 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 1 June 2018.

Part of the Art Deco interior at The Ritz
One of the plaques in the Australian Film Walk of Fame outside The Ritz