There was discussion in the Tasmanian History Facebook group recently of the old Tatler Theatrette in Murray Street, Hobart. I remember going there quite often as a small child when my mother would take my older sister and me to town on the ferry from Bellerive. I remember seeing newsreels, cartoons, Laurel and Hardy, and The Three Stooges.
While my mother was fond of lunch at Coles Cafeteria or the Green Gate, I have memories of going to a cafe near the Tatler. I wracked my memory and came up with The Manhatten. I think it was on the corner of the laneway near the Tatler. Mum would have coffee and we probably had milkshakes or ice cream sundaes. The back wall was decorated with a Manhatten themed mural. Very chic. Despite a couple of hours of research, I was unable to find any images online, but I did find a single reference to it in Peter Timms’ 2009 book, “In Search of Hobart“.
‘Hobart gets the new coffee habit’, announced the Mercury in February 1956. With the opening of the Manhattan Coffee Lounge in Murray Street, ‘Hobart has entered the era of the Espresso Coffee Shop – the espresso which originated in Italy a generation ago and recently took London and Paris by storm … every cup is made to order’. The Manhattan’s sleek, cosmopolitan modernity – its very un-Hobartness – was boldly announced by a Max Angus mural on the back wall showing glittering New York skyscrapers under a smiling sun. ‘The Manhattan was a roaring success,’ says founder Eric Hayes. ‘We were jam-packed from day one. We had up to fourteen people working behind the counter; the place was clean and new, the staff were dressed in white jackets and aprons, and it was trendy – the fashionable place to go.’
In the mid to late 60s, with high school friends, I remember seeing Easy Rider and Woodstock at The Tatler.
There is brief footage of the Tatler entrance at the 2′ 30″ mark.
