A South Australian council has purchased an Art Deco cinema similar to the Liberty Theatre in Yass for $1.6 million.
The purchase of the Victa Cinema forms part of the City of Victor Harbor’s vision to re-energise its town centre and establish Victor Harbor as a regional arts and culture destination.
An arts and cultural centre in the middle of the town will provide a hub for local artists, groups and the broader community to meet, work, exhibit, collaborate and learn, the council’s mayor, Dr Moira Jenkins said.
“Art in all forms has the capacity to enrich people’s lives and contribute to creating strong, healthy and connected communities. The City of Victor Harbor recognises this and over the past five years has increased its focus on developing this sector,” Dr Moira Jenkins said.
Victa Cinema was built in 1924 and like the Liberty Theatre in Yass, was designed to encapsulate old world charm with modern comforts. It also joins two council-owned heritage buildings in the town centre, earmarked for the arts and cultural centre.
Under the council’s ownership, Victa Cinema will continue to show films while underutilised space will be used for the performing arts, Dr Jenkins said.
“Including the cinema into the overall footprint of the Arts and Cultural Centre will help address community concerns with the potential to expand its use as a live performance space and take advantage of the existing tiered seating,” she said.
While the Liberty Theatre closed in 1974, the Victa Cinema remained open and vendors who purchased the business in 2005 upgraded the cinema with comfortable seating, digital projection and 3D equipment in Cinema 2.
The Victa Cinema block is also larger at 658 square metres in size while the Liberty Theatre sits on a 480 square metre block.
Dr Jenkins said the Victa Cinema is highly valued by many residents and visitors and that the council wanted to see the building remain a key part of the town’s entertainment offerings. 
