Circle Theatre

The Circle Theatre was one of several cinemas which opened in Preston during the movie boom time from the late 1930s, through World War II into the 1950s, when drive-in cinemas and television became popular. In 1938, Hoyts commissioned architects Cowper, Murphy and Applegate to design the Circle Theatre at around the same time as an independent operator had the Sun Theatre in Yarraville built in a very similar design. It opened in November 1938 and continued into the early 1960s. Hoyts sold it for use as a dance studio, and the occasional wedding reception was held there in the mid 1970s. It was eventually demolished in 1976 to make way for the Circle Arcade.

A well researched article on the Circle Preston appears in the Cinema Record Issue 62. Interestingly it documents the connection between Braithwaite Tannery and The Circle. There is a further article on the theatre's designer - Cowper, Murphy & Appleford.

A further article in the same issue 'Mad About Movies: Preston Boys Go DIY' about the establishment of the Crown Theatre.  See under Fred Page.

Carroll, Brian & Rule, Ian (1985). Preston: an Illustrated History. Preston: City of Preston.

Cook, Rod. Hoyts Circle Theatre Preston. CinemaRecord; Issue 7, April 1995.  Issue 62, Ed. 1, 2009. Additional reporting by Ian Smith.