Liberty Theatre
1179 Nuuanu Avenue,
Honolulu,
HI
96813
1179 Nuuanu Avenue,
Honolulu,
HI
96813
1 person
favorited this theater
The Ye Liberty Theatre was opened on February 22, 1912. Nice old theatre. Saw a lot of first run war movies in the 1950’s there. Also “Creature from the Black Lagoon” in 3D. Being a kid, architecture seems now maybe Middle Eastern. It was operated by Consolidated Theatres.
In its later days the Liberty Theatre screened Chinese movies. It was closed in 1980.
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Gala
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
The address that I found for the Liberty Theater is 1179 Nuuanu St. which Google maps to 1179 Nuuanu Avenue.
To verify the address, this link contains a police report from July of 1974. The address of the Liberty Theater is included in the report. It’s about halfway down the page.
The website for the New Life Church gives the address of 1190 Nuuanu which is in the former Liberty Theatre. Here is a photo of the former Liberty Theatre.
View link
Chuck, the theatre in that picture looks more like the old Empress Theatre. I sort of remember the Liberty Theatre being situated in between two other buildings.
That’s my photograph. It must have been my comment that made Chuck think that. There’s little information about either the Empress or the Liberty theaters in Honolulu. And the address above, leads right to the New Life Church. I’m guessing the Liberty Theater was across the street from the Empress and is now a parking lot.
It’s really odd how certain theatres can exist for decades yet seem to slip under the radar. I remember the Liberty as being an old broken-down building with a neon sign yet no marquee. I remember the Empress for its unique design. I’m still looking for pics of Kapiolani & Kapahulu Theatres.
The Liberty theater was located on the block between Nuuanu Ave.& Bethel St. & between Chaplain Lane & Beretania.
One of the back corners was across the street from the old Aloha Bowling Center located on the corner of Bethel st. & Chaplain Lane.
Here’s a program from the Liberty Theatre from 1916. Liberty Theatre Program
This house opened as Ye Liberty Theater on February 22, 1912, with 1,600 seats. The original operator, Young Chun, was involved in a lawsuit which is recorded in legal journals of the time.
The seating capacity is found in various editions of All About Hawaii, an annual publication of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The house was still listed in the book as Ye Liberty Theater at least as late as 1921.
The Liberty/Ye Liberty was where the parking lot is today, across from the old Empress. The Google Map image highlights the Empress.
I went to the Liberty in 1979 or 1980 when it was close to falling apart, but I had seen a kung fu movie there.