The Christchurch theatre known today as the Odeon, was completed in 1883 and was first known as the Tuam Street Hall/Theatre. It has hosted many large gatherings, serving for 100 years as a public hall as well as a place of entertainment and then since 1983 as a place of worship. In colonial Christchurch the first town hall was a timber Gothic building constructed in 1857, with a further larger brick and stone structure built beside it in 1862-3. These were the earliest places for public meetings. The first entertainment venue was the short-lived Canterbury Music Hall which opened in 1861 with basic facilities. In 1866 the first Theatre Royal was built but it had an inadequate stage and was demolished and replaced in 1876 by a grander structure on the same site. (This second Theatre Royal continued in use until 1906 when the present Theatre Royal was built across the street.) A group of local businessmen recognised that there was need for a more capacious building to adequately cater for the needs of the growing community. They formed the Public Hall Company Ltd and in 1881 commissioned the widely respected local architect Thomas Stoddart Lambert (1840-1915) to prepare plans for a large public hall in Tuam Street. When construction was underway in early 1883 it was decided to modify the internal layout in order to make the building suitable for live theatre. This gave it a prime function within the developing city, fulfilling the need for both a large public meeting place and theatre, with its style and size reflecting the civic aspirations of the Christchurch settlers. The Tuam Street Hall opened 20 July 1883 with a fundraising soiree in aid of the Young Men's Christian Association. There was a full house of 2,200 people to appreciate the qualities of the new facility which featured an 'innovative convection system' to ensure adequate ventilation, cloakrooms on each floor and a gentlemen's smoking room in the façade's crowning pediment. The large stage area was equipped with the most up to date theatre apparatus, spacious areas for storage and nineteen dressing rooms. The exterior, described as being in 'the Italian style, freely treated' and 'the grandest in Christchurch' , was constructed of brick, with stone used for the façade. Large windows featuring wrought iron arcading separated the three carved timber doorways that gave access to the theatre. Above this, the principal section of the façade was elaborately detailed. Divided by classically styled pilasters into five bays, three round-headed windows ornamented with barley twist columns are located in the central bays. They are surmounted by blue and white stone striped voussoirs. An elaborately detailed cornice was capped by a small central pediment which housed the gentlemen's smoking room. Through the nineteenth century the Tuam Street Hall was advertised as the venue for events under various names. In November 1883 an item in the Lyttelton Times announced that it was to be called the Queen's Theatre but it was still frequently referred to as the Tuam Street Hall. Grand operatic events were interspersed with classical concerts, vaudeville and comic reviews. There were also many exhibitions like winter shows and in 1894 the Canterbury Industrial Exhibition . Well attended public meetings for a variety of purposes took place, including political and evangelical gatherings. Through the 1880s and 90s when roller skating was a popular pastime, the hall was used as a skating rink, with seating hastily replaced as required for normal usage. One of the most significant groups to use the hall for public meetings was the Women's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) in which Kate Sheppard played a leading role. It was under the umbrella of this group that the campaign to gain women's franchise was begun, with Kate Sheppard appointed national Superintendent of the Franchise and Legislation Department in 1887. Sheppard's vigorous campaigning and organisation brought a successful outcome and though she was a convincing public speaker she was initially reluctant to chair large meetings, arranging for supportive men of eminent status to take this role. It was at the meeting in the Tuam Street Hall on 25 September 1893, which was held as a thanksgiving following the successful passing of legislation to allow women to vote, that she first took the chair. In the few weeks before the 28 November election there was frantic activity to ensure women placed their name on the electoral role and the Tuam Street Hall was the place where many women did so and also voted on the momentous day. There was another name change for the Tuam Street Hall in 1894 when the Lyttelton Times advertised an aria concert 'in the Opera House, late Tuam Street Theatre'. D.R.Dix took over the management of the theatre in 1902 and presented a well patronised vaudeville review for the next two years, beginning a new phase in the theatre's history. The theatrical company John Fuller and Sons noted the success of Dix's venture and purchased the theatre in 1904. It was renamed Fullers Vaudeville House and linked into their large chain of vaudeville houses through New Zealand and Australia. Beginning in Dunedin in the nineties as a family entertainment in Dunedin, John Fuller and Sons made Fuller a household word in the country. They became promoters of vaudeville and variety and, later, theatre owners and entrepreneurs, importing artists from overseas for revues, musicals, melodramas and opera. The entertainment brought to Christchurch by Fullers gave the theatre much use through the next decades. There was a slight set back in 1906 when competitive shows were staged in His Majesty's Theatre, newly opened in Manchester Street and Fullers Vaudeville House closed briefly to renovate the back stage facilities in order to better attract visiting performers. This was followed by Christchurch City Council action condemning the theatre as a fire hazard, an injunction which was rapidly overturned through meeting requirements. In July 1917 Fullers relocated their programmed performances to His Majesty's Theatre, a move which only lasted until November that year when the recently built theatre was gutted by fire and action returned once more to Tuam Street. Performances at the building were again advertised as being in The Opera House. In 1927 Sir Benjamin Fuller visited, commenting that he thought that the time for vaudeville was passed, musical comedies being more popular. It was decided that the theatre be closed and the interior totally reconstructed. The Luttrell Brothers, the Christchurch architects chosen to refit and modernise the theatre, were experienced in theatre design and renowned for their advanced construction techniques and innovative use of modern building materials. They put their skills to good effect creating a new interior within the shell of the 1883 structure, leaving only the fly tower and the original façade. A verandah was added across the street frontage, a shop window was removed from the ground floor and Lambert's timber framed sash windows were replaced with sympathetically designed iron framed ones. Internally a thoroughly modern theatre was created. In the auditorium unobstructed views were made possible because cantilevered steel girders supported the new curved dress circle. The total seating number was reduced from 2,200 to 1,300 and a lounge was provided at mezzanine level after ascent on a new marble stairway which featured a balustrade with the 1883 kauri banister. The new proscenium arch was much larger and fitted with a fire curtain. The owners and the general public immediately acclaimed the theatre for its comfort, convenience for both patrons and performers and the quality of the sight lines and the acoustics. It has continued to be ranked highly in Christchurch because of these qualities. Reopened as the New Opera House on 3 December, 1927 and described as one of the most handsome and modern theatres in the dominion, reviews and theatrical productions continued while the Fullers contemplated the future viability of cinemas. By October 1929 it had been decided to equip the theatre for talkies but continue usage for live theatre. The first talkie was screened in 1930 in what was now called the St James Theatre, with management taken over by the Christchurch Cinema Company Ltd. The effects of the depression closed the theatre as a cinema for a time and then the older varied uses returned with audiences enthralled by vaudeville, ballet, performing dogs, musicians, comedians and wrestlers. There were great events through the 1940s when the St James hosted star performers of international repute including Stanley Holloway, the Trapp family, Sir Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Competition from the cinema industry increased and in 1960 the large chain Kerridge-Odeon Limited became managers. With the objective of updating the exterior, Kerridge removed Lambert's cornice and pediment and improved the interior to suit the more sophisticated tastes of contemporary cinema goers. The overall form of the theatre, as the Luttrell Brothers had created it, was retained, but by reducing the number of back stall seats there was space to provide a coffee lounge. The dress circle ceiling was raised by 1.2 metres to allow full vision of the new 70-millimetre projection system and this area was re-plastered with classical motifs painted in pastel colours. With the marble stairs now carpeted and a ticket box featuring cladding of Queenstown's colourful stone, the overall effect was an 'opulent revelation'. Now named the Odeon, it was launched into a grand period as the most modern of theatres. This 'golden age' was relatively short lived with the increasing popularity of television eroding attendance numbers until defeat was acknowledged in 1983 by closure. The Sydenham Assembly of God purchased the theatre which, with the removal of cinema related equipment, adapted very well for its new ecclesiastical purpose. Although their use of the building continued until 2003 the Assembly of God had the continuing worry of the structural report that was prepared for the building in 1985, identifying the urgent need for major earthquake strengthening at an estimated cost of $790,000. The costs for this and other issues like heating led the group to sell the building in 2003 to 3H Property Development Group. In May 2004 a building consent for demolition of the building was lodged with the Christchurch City Council. This was not progressed. The Odeon Theatre Trust was formed in 2004 with the objective of securing the building's future, by establishing a new use and achieving public ownership. In December 2006 the building's ownership was changed, bringing a new spirit of optimism for the building's future.

This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is the original citation considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Information in square brackets indicate modifications made after the paper was considered by the Board. Physical Description Tuam Street, in the central business district of Christchurch, has a commercial/public/industrial character. The Odeon is among a number of heritage buildings in this vicinity that are registered or listed on the Christchurch City Plan. The architectural qualities of the Odeon and its neighbouring buildings have been recently identified to the Christchurch City Council as having potential for this street to make a major contribution to new re-vitalisation proposals in the area. Facing Tuam Street, the Odeon presents an imposing façade with narrow spaces between it and its neighbours to reveal the plain brick side walls. At the rear is the brick fly tower. Classical pilasters with corinthian capitals articulate the upper floor of the two storeyed five bay façade. The three central bays feature paired round-headed windows separated by barley twist columns and framed by alternating blue and white stone voussoirs. Single windows without voussoirs complete the flanking bays. (All of these windows had timber framed sashes when the building was constructed in 1883, replaced by iron framing and glazing bars during the 1927 upgrade.) The window style, grouping and decoration provide a Venetian Gothic appearance. Originally, the building was crowned by an elaborately decorated cornice, balustrade and central pediment The latter two were completely removed during the 1960 modernisation and the cornice, shorn of the ornamentation, is now very plain. Today, it is this upper floor which gives the building its imposing appearance, described in 1883 as 'the grandest in Christchurch'. The ground floor frontage has been altered several times with a verandah added in 1927. This has a patterned pressed metal ceiling, iron roof and steel supports. As required by differing uses, changes have also been made to the style and arrangement of the original windows and entrances which were complementary in style to the upper floor. The current frontage has painted timber double and single doors and a sliding door, probably dating from 1960. Overall the building's street frontage continues to make a distinctive architectural contribution to the streetscape, its Victorian character reflecting the Odeon's long history In 1927 the interior was altered by the Luttrell Brothers to make the theatre, now renamed 'The New Opera House', what the Lyttelton Times described as one of the most up-to-date theatres in the dominion. The interior was virtually rebuilt within the existing external shell and today remains largely intact. It has a large stage, commodious facilities for performers and an auditorium which has been frequently described as the best in Christchurch because of its layout, acoustics and unimpeded sightlines. Steel girders provide cantilevered support for the dress circle, eliminating the need for supporting pillars. The sweeping curve of the dress circle projects over the raked ground floor space to giving a sense of intimacy for patrons despite the large scale of the space. The principal expanse of the ceiling is a special feature with its elaborate coffered style finish. Over the upper section of the circle the ceiling was raised four feet (1.22 metres) in 1960 to allow for new cinema projection and was given new classically inspired decorative motifs. In 1983 the stage itself was slightly extended beyond its 1927 depth of 400 feet (122 metres), with carpeting and steps added for Assembly of God meetings. The entrance foyer retains the form it was given in 1960. It was enlarged by the removal of some of the ground floor seating allowing provision of a spacious coffee lounge, 'a revolutionary innovation' for the time. The new ticket box clad in Queenstown's Remarkable Range stone was considered a fine feature. This latter element was removed as part of the very minor changes made when the Assembly of God began their use of the building in 1983. Comparative Analysis The Odeon Theatre's physical appearance gives it a special place in the Christchurch environment. There are a small number of other examples in the city of the Venetian Gothic style used for commercial buildings, though none by Lambert. This was the only instance for a theatre and it is a freely interpreted use of the style. Other nineteenth century theatres in Christchurch and elsewhere provided a more conservative classical appearance. It was not until the early twentieth century that New Zealand's grandiose movie theatres, like the Civic in Auckland or the St James in Wellington, were constructed. Similarly, in comparison with Lambert's other building designs this is a more exuberant example. His United Services Hotel (1883), known originally as Morten's building, was a landmark feature of Cathedral Square because of its scale and the restrained dignity of its architectural form and detailing. The internal layout is indicative of the most advanced form for an auditorium, as understand in the 1920s, and its superb visual and acoustic qualities have ensured its continued high reputation as a theatre over the following decades. Although the basic form is similar to that of other cinemas throughout the country the Odeon's design was particularly successful. It is Christchurch's oldest intact theatre and nationally, it is second in age only to Nelson's Theatre Royal, a timber structure of simpler style. [The Odeon Theatre building suffered damage in the Canterbury earthquakes. The rear portion of the building has been demolished but the front section including the façade remains.]