CAARP
Cinema and Audience Research Project

The Roxy, a purpose-built cinema designed by architects Crick and Furse, opened in 1935 under the proprietorship of Ronald Sutton and Charles Owen (Thorne, Todd and Cork 1996). Originally designed to seat 772 the cinema comprised two levels, a dress circle and stalls.

In 1944 Sutton and Owen sold out to Edwin Potts director of the cinema management company, Arpee Theatres (Parkinson 2005, pp. 35-36), thus the two Nowra cinemas the Roxy and West’s Theatre became linked through management.West's Theatre

In June 1956 the proscenium was widen for cinemascope.

In 1964 the Roxy closed for ten months due to a decline in audiences resulting, according to Parkinson (2005, p. 36), to competition from television.

The cinema underwent a series of refurbishments in the 1980s, including the installation of air-conditioning, enlargement of the refreshment area and the provision of a space for video gaming machines. Many of the original Art Deco features were replaced with the introduction of a medieval theme. The changes to the interior also resulted in the seating capacity being reduced to 368.

In 1990 and again in1993 the cinema was once more extensively remodelled in the first instance with the stalls and dress-circle being transformed into two cinemas and in the second, the further twinning of the of the ground floor cinema. The Roxy became known as Roxy Cinemas. In 2004 the original stage area was demolished and two additional cinema spaces were incorporated into the structure bringing the total number of screens to five (Parkinson 2005; Thorne, Todd and Cork 1996). Although few of the original internal cinematic features now remain, the façade has remained remains largely unchanged. The Roxy is still in operation.

References:
“Film Weekly Motion Picture Directory”, Film Weekly, Sydney, 1936 – 1971.
Parkinson, R. J 2005, Silver Screen in the Shoalhaven, Robert James Parkinson, Sydney.
Thorne, R, Tod, L & Cork, K 1996, Movie Theatre Heritage Register for New South Wales 1896 – 1996, Department of Architecture, University of Sydney, Sydney.