Odeon Theatre: History

The building that exists now was built in 1883 - the oldest masonry theatre in New Zealand, and one of only three intact, purpose built theatres built in the 19th century.

1877-1882 Tuam Street Public Hall

Seating: 2200
At the time it was the largest building erected as a place of public entertainment in Christchurch, decorated in in a eclectic array of Italian motifs, the elegant street-front facade was the grandest in the city. The stalls held 1400 whilst the immense balcony seated 600.
Destroyed by fire.

1883-1894 Tuam Street Public Hall

New building designed by T.S. Lambert - brick construction with a majestic stone façade of Italianate design with Venetian Gothic elements
Seating 1311
It became a popular venue for meetings - notably, Kate Sheppard held some suffrage gatherings in the hall and in November 1893 some of the first votes by women were cast there.
Also used as a roller skating rink.

1894-1903 Opera House

1903-1928 Fuller's Vaudeville House

Refurbished 1927 by the Luttrell Brothers, also notable architects, providing the theatre with superior comfort, acoustics and viewing qualities. (The auditorium still retains the appearance provided by the Luttrell Brothers, despite later alterations)
Seating 1298

1928-1930 New Opera House

1930-1959 St James

Completely remodelled - dress circle reshaped into a gentle curve, re-raked to seat 420 (Designer Allan Manson)
Screening early Hollywood 'talkies' plus live shows

1959-1983 Odeon

(Designers Rigby & Mullan)
Seating: 725-750
Bought by Kerridge Odeon, the theatre was completely remodelled, upgraded and reopened as The Odeon, with projection room & wide screen. The dress circle was rasied 4 feet to avoid cropping the 70mm projection.
However,The introduction of television led to a decline in cinema patronage and this, accompanied by a reduction in live performances led to the theatre's closure.

1983-2006 Assembly of God Church

In 1999 they offered the building for sale.
In 2006 was bought by a property developer, Dave Henderson.

2006-

2007- "Fantastic News- The Odeon Theatre has been sold!!!!. The Theatre has been derelict for about 3 years. It was purchased by Property Ventures Ltd for a undisclosed sum early December. The company guru David Henderson has stated that this Venetian Gothic theatre will restored back to it’s original granduer. I consider it from what i know that likely it will once again reflect it’s entertainment past in it’s future journey. Structural reports are being assembled and analysed as i write and currently the theatre is undergoing weather proofing to stop further damage to it’s internal fabric. This result is a victory for heritage and a victory for all lovers of the arts in Christchurch." Nick Paris Chairman Odeon Trust
2010 - (from The Press): The historic Odeon Theatre could be strengthened against earthquakes to make it more attractive to buyers. The crumbling 132-year-old theatre was put up for mortgagee sale in November, but no buyer was found.
First mortgagee Allied Nationwide Finance has done a deal with the second mortgagee, Taurus Group, that could see the building saved from dereliction.
The Odeon Theatre Trust estimates it could cost $2.6 million just for seismic strengthening and general refurbishment of the 700-seat venue.
David Kitson, director of Taurus Group, said they were working out how much it would cost to make the building compliant, but had no definite plan. ...It's no longer for sale. I don't really know what the stumbling block was. It may have scared people off. Funding is an issue for a lot of people these days. Buying an empty building with no tenant and no return – the banks don't like lending against buildings with no cash," he said.
The building was offered to the Christchurch City Council by former owner David Henderson for $1.03m when it bought five other properties from him for $17m in 2008.
The council decided not to buy the building because of high refurbishment costs. 

See this link for a video of Heritage Campaign to revitalise the Odeon as part of a performing arts complext (Mark Hadlow): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mwwLPBVyrk

2011 - The Odeon has suffered damage due to quake, a slumped portion of roofline over the auditorium (front half) is cause for concern, likewise the trajectory of fallen stagehouse bricks in the same area.
2012 - Plan is to demolish the stage house plus most of the auditorium up to maybe the balcony area (unless not feasible). The foyer areas look set to be retained at his stage. The cinema suffered catastrophic damage furthered by the June quake. The lower stalls area of the roof has collapsed into floor "A truly sorry sight…."