Hamilton Prop House – ACO Heritage Awards

Nominated for the Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Reuse: Small-Scale/Individual/Small Business

The Hamilton Prop House is a cafe, cocktail bar, wellness (non-alcoholic) bar, coworking and gathering space, live music venue, and functioning film prop studio situated in a historic 1916 movie theatre in Hamilton. Opened in 1916 by Hamilton Theatre magnate Fred Guest, the theatre was remodeled in 1930 and again in the late 1960s. In 2024, the space was reimagined by CEO Simon Winterson to house a dazzling array of film props. The items there are still available for rental and many have been in famous movies and TV shows. The theatre still retains many interior details from the 1960s and the owner has stated that while it has not been opened to the public, the upstairs still includes original theatre equipment and decorative elements dating to the early 20th century.