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Empire
                                                  The






                                                                    Theatre


                        The Empire Picture Palace, New Empire Deluxe, St James and Rialto Cinemas


                                                   By Gerry Kennedy

                   unedin is a port city situated on the south-east coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
                    Today it has a population of c120,000. Most of the cinema history is centred on the inner city
            Das there were only a few suburban venues. There were nine cinemas in Dunedin in the 1940s

            The Empire Theatre has had a long and interesting history. It has evolved, with major alterations and additions, into the
            current venue. The theatre has a modest footprint on the landscape in Moray St as the main theatre buildings have been
            constructed at the rear of other commercial premises. The cinematic history of this site is quite an interesting one.




             he Empire Picture Palace – 1916   The entrance vestibule contained an  The concave fronted balcony
         TOpened 6 March, 1916              octagonal-shaped ticket box, tiled  contained about fifteen rows of seats.
          Opening Film: Fanchon the Cricket  floors, refreshment counters, office and  The projection area was situated at the
          starring Mary Pickford.           storage areas. A grand staircase led to  rear of the balcony. As the theatre was
                                            the inner vestibule and the stalls  built for films there was only a shallow
            The Empire theatre was built by the
                                            entrances. A left-hand staircase led to  stage to accommodate the screen. An
          Empire Picture Palace Company Ltd, a
                                            the small circle foyer. A substantial  orchestra pit was also included. The
          local company, as a picture theatre. The
                                            auditorium was built behind the hotel,  theatre design was described as art
          theatre was accessed from Princes St,
                                            parallel to Princes St. It was a tall, long  nouveau.
          via an arcade entrance through a hotel
                                            and narrow space built of brick and
          building. A bow-shaped wrought iron                                     In 1921 the theatre was leased to
                                            concrete. Concrete beams also
          veranda was built over the entrance.                  (1) & (2)      Thomas A.O’Brien. He was an up-and
                                            supported the side walls.          coming theatrical entrepreneur from
                                                                               Australia. He rapidly acquired many
          Below: Empire Pictures (left) and the Queens Theatre (right) in Princes Street, 1911.  cinemas in his burgeoning circuit
                                                                               which, by the end of the 1920s, had
                                                                               become the third largest circuit in New
                                                                               Zealand. He was to construct the two
                                                                               largest picture palaces in the country.
                                                                                  T.A.O’Brien acquired the ownership
                                                                               of the Empire and a large amount of
                                                                               land next to it. He then set about
                                                                               building the largest theatre in the
                                                                               Dominion.
                                                                                  In 1927 plans were drawn for the
                                                                               conversion of the existing Empire into
                                                                               part of a larger atmospheric theatre. It
                                                                               was to be a Persian-themed theatre.
                                                                               With the reconstruction the auditorium
                                                                               was to be built at right angles to the
                                                                               former theatre. The theatre closed on
                                                                               28 June 1927.









          14  2010 CINEMARECORD
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