St. James Theatre, Historic theatre in Auckland, New Zealand
St. James Theatre is a historic theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, featuring a grand auditorium decorated with ornate plasterwork, carved columns, and classical design elements arranged across multiple tiers. The interior showcases rich embellishments throughout the seating areas and architectural features.
The building opened in 1928, replacing an earlier opera house, and initially served audiences as a vaudeville stage before transitioning to cinema. It remained a major entertainment venue in the city until closing in 2007.
For decades, the venue served as a gathering place where musicians, performers, and audiences from across the region came together to experience live entertainment. The space reflects this legacy of bringing people together through performance and cinema.
The building is currently undergoing major restoration work and is not open for visits. Once the renovation is finished, tours and performances are planned to resume.
The theatre ranks among New Zealand's finest examples of vaudeville architecture, designed by architect Henry Eli White with distinctive design choices reflecting the entertainment standards of that era. Its structure captures a particular moment in theatre design before cinema became the dominant form of entertainment.
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