Majestic Theatre, Pomona, Silent movie theater in Pomona, Australia.
Majestic Theatre is a timber and fibrous-cement-sheeted hall at 3 Factory Street, Pomona, about 12 metres wide by 18 metres long, raised on stumps against flooding. Its gable roof sagged inward within years of the 1921 construction and kept that profile until 2006–07 renovations. A 1920s supper room extends along the southeast side, and small shops flank the entrance.
The building was constructed in 1921 as a social hall with attached shops and received an entertainment license in 1923. Its function gradually shifted from silent films to sound films beginning in 1931.
The hall opened in 1921 as a social centre for dances, balls, concerts, roller skating, boxing and church services, alongside silent film screenings. Travelling picture show men called first; in 1923 Myra Osborne leased the hall to Harold "Picture" Page, who obtained a theatre licence. Early silent films were reportedly accompanied by a schoolgirl playing random music on a pianola.
The venue is located on Factory Street and is accessible on foot or by car with parking available nearby. Visitors should know that it operates primarily for special events and screenings rather than regular daily showtimes.
The claim that it is the world's oldest authentic silent movie theatre rests on its 1921 opening as the Majestic Hall, built by publicans Errol and Myra Osborne beside their Railway Hotel. Silent films were shown there from the start, reportedly with a schoolgirl playing a pianola, before Harold "Picture" Page took the lease in 1923.
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