Metro drive in Innaloo cinemas

On 20 April 1957, M.G.M. opened the Metro Drive-in with a gala screening of High Society, attended by more than 300 notables: according to the West Australian (18 April 1957) this included ‘members of Parliament, civic leaders and heads of the commerce, industry and theatrical sections of the community’. The venue was claimed to be at that time the largest in the country, with provision for 950 cars, and a holding area at the rear for a further 600 waiting for the next session. It had a four-lane entrance to the 22 acre site, and seating accommodation for 400 walk-ins. The screen was advertised as one of the two largest in Australia, at 72 feet high, and bolted into 500 tons of concrete foundation, to withstand winds of up to 80 miles per hour. A nurse was employed to supervise the children’s playground, which was securely fenced. There were even attendants to treat windscreens with a water-repellant solution so the screen would remain clearly visible despite rain. Restaurant patrons could eat while they viewed through the glass windows and heard the sound broadcast over speakers. Parents could heat up baby food or bottles, and infants’ changing facilities included provision for washing and drying nappies

Capacity was increased in 1968 to over 1000 cars. In the early days, nearby residents found living with a drive-in rather uncomfortable, and there were many complaints of noise and traffic congestion, but these eventually settled down.

After the drive-in was taken over by Ace Theatres in 1971, the Innaloo Cinema seating 400 was built further along the street at no.57 Liege St, and opened 13 December 1973, the first new hard-top in the metropolitan area for twenty years. It was of octagonal design, with the whole of the front facet in glass. The auditorium was also octagonal in shape. Interiors favoured simplicity, with exposed brick walls, but comfort was suggested also by lavish carpeting extending up some of the vertical surfaces. The cinema was sited away from the road, on a rise which made it visible from the surrounding district, and with plenty of car-parking space.

In 1984, the drive-in was twinned and all three sections of the venue continued to operate. Then on 16 December 1990 Greater Union opened an eight-plex on a corner of the site, closing the old hard-top while it was refurbished and incorporated into the multiplex, but continuing to run the smaller twin drive-in beside it. The drive-in closed in November 1993, and the site was cleared for use as a car park for the multiplex next door. In 1994 the multiplex added three more screens, bringing it to a total of eleven – the largest number in a single complex in Australia at that time. One was a Megascreen Cinema, 20 metres wide, seating 560 patrons. The old Innaloo Cinema, now incorporated into the development, became Cinema 4. Then in 1996 plans were announced to add ten screens to the eleven already in operation. The final result was a little more modest, but still the largest complex in the state at the time: in late 1998, the complex re-opened with 16 screens, including 3 Megascreens and one Senstadium. In 2003 it was reported that ‘Greater Union has spent in excess of $3 million on the now updated cinemas including the conversion of another two screens to Gold Class’ (Kino, no.85, p.43)