Kōrero: Theatres, cinemas and halls

While movies had been shown in various venues since the 1890s, New Zealand's first purpose-built picture theatre or cinema was the King's Theatre in Wellington. It opened in 1910 and had a large auditorium with a spacious dress circle. Modernised in art deco style in 1937, its auditorium featured a spectacular neon light show before screenings. In the early 1980s it was converted into two cinemas, but due to declining patronage it was demolished in 1986.