Heritage et AL

When the Delta Theatre opened in July 1926 the grand opening was advertised in the Saturday edition of  New Zealand Herald : Ref: excerpt from the New Zealand Herald, 31 July 1926, page 18.  In The History of New Lynn , it was claimed, unusually for the time, that the architect of the Delta Theatre was a woman. However, contemporary newspaper reports on the ‘Leaky Picture House’ vary as to whether Miss Mitchell was the building contractor or the architect . The theatre was closed in 1928 because of subsidence and reopened in 1929, the Auckland Star reported upon its reopening on the 21 May 1929. Ref: Delta Theatre, 1930, New Lynn Print Collection, West Auckland Research Centre, Auckland Libraries.

This is the second part of this post about leisure in the northern parts of the Auckland region. Missed Part 1 of this post? Find it here . Culture, leisure and entertainment have changed with changing technologies. In the early part of the 20 th  century the travelling People’s Picture company was very popular. It regularly visited Matakana, Puhoi, Wellsford and other places during the summer months. Ref: Excerpt from the  Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette , 8 October 1913, Page 4.

Auckland’s entertainment sensation of the 1920s was going to the movies – first silent movies, and then “talkies”. Every Saturday night, one-sixth of the city’s residents went to watch stars like Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper or Gloria Swanson in romance and adventure stories. The most-attended movie – Charlton Heston’s Ben Hur - sold 76,000 tickets during its Queen Street run, and Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid drew 21,000 people in a week. Ref: NZ Ephemera - 'The N.Z. Picturegoer', Volume 1, Number 7, 20 January 1928, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. However, not everyone was pleased with cinema’s popularity. One of Auckland’s main exhibitor’s, Henry Hayward, had to answer a complaint from the Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society that movies normalised crime for children by encouraging them to play make-believe games such as bush-ranging. Ref: James D Richardson, Looking north down the west side of Queen Street, 22 January 1928, Sir George Grey Speci...

Queen Street’s St. James Theatre has been in the news recently , with the announcement by its new owner of plans for restoration, in conjunction with the development of an adjacent 39 story residential tower. The Category 1 listed building was opened in July 1928, with a performance of the London Musical Comedy ‘Archie’. The images below are the cover and the centre pages of the programme from  that  evening:  Ref: New Zealand Ephemera -  'Archie' - A Musical Comedy In Two Acts.  Gala opening performance of the St James Theatre, July 5 1928.   Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries.  Ref: New Zealand Ephemera -  'Archie' - A Musical Comedy In Two Acts.  Gala opening performance of the St James Theatre, July 5 1928.   Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 

Mercury Theatre on the corner of Karangahape Road and Mercury Lane is the Auckland region’s oldest theatre building. Originally named the Kings Theatre, the theatre was built in 1910 for the notable Australasian entertainment company, John Fuller & Sons. The Fullers were a well known vaudeville family who had arrived in NZ in 1895 and toured the main centres. John Fuller realised the potential of silent movies and the need for a purpose built theatre for both live theatre and music. He obtained the land for the theatre and architect Edward Bartley was given the brief to erect the the theatre. Built in the Edwardian Baroque style, this brick building of three storeys has a  rare and regionally notable interior, which is a prime example of  original Edwardian Theatre. The building previously had three entrances including the former entrance through the Norman Ng Building on Karangahape Road, which has been more recently occupied by a series of food outlets and cafes. R...