Cygnet Cinema

Cygnet Cinema is located at 16 Preston Street, Como, Western Australia. It was the first purpose built sound cinema in the suburbs immediately south of the city in the inter-war period. The Cygnet Cinema opened in 1938 and was built by local identity and film entrepreneur James Stiles. It is an excellent example of the art deco style of architect William Leighton and is included on the State’s Heritage Register.HistoryThe Cygnet Theatre, built in 1938 for James Stiles of the Grand Theatre Company, was originally named the Como Theatre. Formerly a real estate agent, Stiles moved into the cinema industry to save one of his assets, Grand Theatre, which faced ruin in the wake of the stock market crash in 1929. With the boom in cheap entertainment, the Grand Theatre Company soon became a very successful company. In 1938, Stiles managed to secure a ten year lease on Piccadilly Theatre, modernised his existing cinemas and built Como Theatre.In the late 1930s South Perth had developed as a desirable, respectable riverside suburb. Como Beach was a popular recreation area for families, and a ferry service to the city left from the Como jetty at the bottom end of Preston Street.The 1930s were also a boom period for entertainment. Attending the cinema was a popular pastime and an escape from the poverty of the Depression. A number of cinemas were built, not only in the city centres of Perth or Fremantle, but also in the suburbs. The Cygnet Theatre was not the first cinema in the South Perth area. It was preceded by the picture shows held twice weekly at the Swan Street Hall (1922), the Gaiety Picture Theatre on the corner of Coode and Angelo Streets (1926) and the Hurlingham Picture Theatre on Canning Highway (1933). The Gaiety and Hurlingham were still in operation when the Como Theatre opened in 1938 as the most modern and up-to-date-cinema in the district, screening "talkies" for the first time.