The Marryatville Hotel is in Kensington, and the cinema was built in proximity to the post office and former primary school, police station and bowling club sites.

[1][2] at that time in a late Edwardian style[3] designed for National Pictures (who also owned cinemas at Prospect, North Adelaide, Norwood and Victor Harbor[1]) by South Australian theatre architect Christopher Arthur Smith.

(Smith (1892–1952) had no formal architectural training, but is recognised as one of the leading South Australian exponents of the Art Deco style for his later works.

[7] The cinema was adapted for "talkies" when they became available in 1929, and in 1940–41 a substantial upgrade to an Art Deco was undertaken by Frank Kenneth Milne Architect[3] (1885–1980[8]) under the direction of the Waterman family.

It reopened as the Ozone Marryatville on 30 May 1941,[2][9] with a reduced seating capacity of 1145,[10] or up to 1490, according to The News, which also reports that it only shut completely for a period of one week.

[12] Another major renovation took place in 1983–1984, after the building was listed on the state's heritage register,[3] the South Australian Heritage Register, as "the oldest purpose-built cinema in Adelaide,[Note 1] the only remaining silent cinema still operating, and as a building of architectural & cultural significance to Burnside",[12] and the Council secured a grant under the Community Employment Program.

The number of seats was reduced from 1145 to 586, a new floor, screen, acoustic equipment and carpet were installed, and the cinema was repainted for the first time since 1955.

After an Expression of Interest process for the sale of the site was run, there was strong community activism campaigning for the building to remain in public ownership as a cinema in perpetuity.

[citation needed] As of July 2020[update], Steve Virgo manages the cinema as an employee of Burnside Council, since being appointed in December 2016.