Built in 1930, the Regent Theatre in Palmerston North is one of the few surviving examples of a chain of theatres built in New Zealand by the Australian cinema company J.C. Williamson Ltd. The first "Regent" theatre was erected in Auckland in 1926, and by 1934 the company had built 23 theatres throughout New Zealand. Charles Hollinshed, a Melbourne architect employed by the company, designed the Palmerston North Regent Theatre. Erected on the site of the former Post Office Hotel, the theatre was built to accommodate live shows and the 'talkie' films that had arrived in New Zealand just two years earlier.

The Regent's plain, concrete facade was three storeys high and incorporated elements of the Art Deco style that was becoming increasingly popular. The Baroque interior was inspired by the lavish, hardtop picture palaces that were developed to lure patrons back to the theatre when cinema began to attract an increasing following. As the Regent was built during the Depression, the sense of opulence was created using faux-gold and similar materials, and the large stage and backstage area remained unfinished on opening night. The grand, marble staircase in the elaborate entrance lobby led to a mezzanine floor where the roof rafters were decorated with stencilled kowhaiwhai designs. The auditorium featured blue tinted windows inspired by the 'atmospheric' picture houses that were then in vogue. The auditorium, which seated up to 1600 patrons, also included a large fresco painted by chief artist and designer for J.C. Williamson, W. Colman.

The Regent was opened by the Mayor of Palmerston North in 1930, who pronounced that the opening of such a beautiful building marked an epoch in the history of the city. It was then the largest cinema in the area and the acoustics and sightlines were considered to be world class. Initially, formal dress was required of Regent patrons and reservations were necessary on Friday and Saturday nights. The Regent hosted live shows every three and a half weeks.

Despite the Regent's success, the Depression drove J.C. Williamson Ltd into financial difficulties. In 1946 the firm was taken over by Sir Robert Kerridge, a New Zealander who controlled 111 theatres throughout the country by 1949. From the 1960s the central role that the theatre had played in the community's cultural life began to lessen. With the arrival of television in 1963 and the extension of pub opening hours four years later, cinema attendances dropped. In the 1980s smaller, multiplex theatres began to cater for the smaller audiences and large, single screen cinemas like the Regent became dilapidated and run down.

In 1988 the Regent was placed on the market. One year later a public campaign was launched to 'Save the Regent'. Six thousand signatures were collected on a petition to save the building. In 1992 the Palmerston North City Council obtained ownership of the Regent by an agreement with the theatre's owners to exchange it for the Opera House. The Opera House was demolished shortly afterwards. The Council agreed to contribute $10,000,000 of the $12,700,000 required to restore the Regent to its former grandeur and to modernise it technically. $1,000,000 was provided by the New Zealand Lotteries Grants Board. The local community undertook the largest financial challenge in its history and raised the remaining $1,700,000 by 1997. The renovations commenced in 1996 and were completed in time for the reopening of the theatre in 1998.

The Regent Theatre in Palmerston North is of national significance as one of the few surviving, purpose-built Regent Theatres that were once common throughout the country. Its history provides great insight into the development, decline, and revival of live theatre and cinema in New Zealand. Architecturally interesting for its coherent use of a number of design styles, the theatre interior also illustrates the changing fashions of cinema through its incorporation of elements of the atmospheric picture house in a hard-top theatre. The theatre is noteworthy for its unusual use of Maori design as part of the décor. The excellence of the acoustics give the building technical significance. Held in demonstrably high regard by the citizens of Manawatu, the theatre is of great local importance as a centre of culture and community in Palmerston North.