Story: Theatres, cinemas and halls

Demolishing the Majestic Theatre

Demolishing the Majestic Theatre

A person stands in the vast auditorium of Wellington's Majestic Theatre during its demolition in 1987. The rise of television from the 1960s and other leisure pursuits led to a decline in cinema-going and made large theatres like the Majestic unprofitable. Owners sometimes converted theatre spaces into a number of smaller cinemas, used the space for something else, or else demolished them altogether. A large skyscraper was subsequently built on the site of the Majestic. 

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1987/3142/19-F
Photograph by Greg King

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Ben Schrader, 'Theatres, cinemas and halls - Theatre rises, cinema declines', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/42391/demolishing-the-majestic-theatre (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Ben Schrader, published 22 Oct 2014