King's Theatre

The Empire Picture Palace, located on the corner of Colombo Street and Elgin Street, in the south Christchurch district of Sydenham. It started life as the Presbyterian Church originally built in 1880. It was converted to a cinema and commenced screening on January 2, 1911 when it was opened by the Mayor, Mr C Allison. Admission for adults was 1s (10c) in the circle and 6d (5c) in the stalls. It had a seating capacity of 850 persons.

During a performance on February 25, 1918, a fire broke out in the projection box. Although the cinema was not damaged, some 2,000 feet of film was destroyed and the projectionist, Mr Williams, suffered burns to his hands.

On August 12, 1922, the Empire Picture Palace was renamed the King’s Theatre. It is believed that the King’s Theatre remained a silent cinema throughout its life until its closure in May 1936. The cinema was demolished in June of that year.

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