Paragon Theatre, Heritage cinema in Childers, Australia

The Paragon Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema and theatre at 75 Churchill Street, Childers, designed by Brisbane architect Arthur Robson and built in 1927 by contractor P Mellefont Jnr. Its brick and stucco facade is Mediterranean in style, with glazed-tiled brick columns at the entrance and the district's first cantilevered awning. Inside, a timber auditorium under a galvanised iron roof has a dress circle, private boxes and a stage with an orchestra pit.

The Paragon Theatre was built in 1927 for the film exhibitors Gee, Philpott and Gee, replacing Gee's Hall, a refreshment rooms and ballroom on the site where silent films were first shown in the district in 1912. Brisbane architect Arthur Robson designed it as a tropical theatre, and contractor P Mellefont, Jnr built it. It opened in 1928, reputedly with The Jazz Singer, and was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 April 2000.

The name Paragon was adopted by the Paragon Pictures Company, the firm of Dudley and Margery Gee that took over the theatre after Harold Philpott sold his share. The Gee family had run refreshment rooms on this Churchill Street site since about 1906, and their hall showed the district's first silent films in 1912, starting with The Iron Claw starring Pearl White.

The theatre stands at 75 Churchill Street, in Childers' main street, and its entrance is flanked by brick columns clad in glazed tiles, with two small shops either side of the doors. The 1927 design used the district's first cantilevered awning, so the footpath in front is sheltered. The hall measures 60 by 120 feet, with a dress circle and private boxes above the stalls.

The building incorporates tropical design elements including timber lattice and decorative fretwork that enable natural air circulation. This unusual approach to cinema construction sets it apart from standard cinema buildings elsewhere.