The Real Seat sculpture

Public Art : The Real Seat sculpture

Sculptor: © Mehdi Rasulle

Sculptor’s Website: www.mehdirasulle.com

Description: The Real Seat sculpture features two movie reels at the end of a film strip inspired seat. The sculpture is in honor of the original site of the Broadway Theatre, which was located outside the Barber Shop on the corner of Harper Street and Albany Highway and replaces an existing seat.

Date Unveiled: June, 2012

Location: The Real Seat can be found on the corner of Harper St and Albany Highway, Victoria Park, Western Australia.

History of the Broadway Theatre : The Broadway, a 1200 seat cinema in Victoria Park, was built in 1927. Soon after it was opened it was taken over by J.R. Johnson who already controlled three other cinemas in Victoria Park. The building was designed exactly like the Premier Theatre in East Perth and featured presssed metal ceilings, a blue curtain and artifical flowers in baskets.

In 1939 it had a renovation and was renamed New Broadway.  During the redesign a little miscalculation in design meant that people in the rear row of the dress circle walked through the lightbeam. In response they placed the projectors a foot higher to lift the beam, which resulted in the projectionist having problems in threading the machines and changing the carbon.

In 1948, when the venue was sold to the Goldfields Theatres chain, an open air screening garden was added. The New Broadway closed it’s doors in 1964 and was converted to a supermarket.