Hollywood Cinema

Situated in the Avondale suburb of Auckland, the Whau Public Hall was built in 1867. Occasional film presentations took place from as early as 1900, when the Edison Kinematograph Company visited during their national tour, presenting film of the Boer War.

Following a name change, to Avondale Town Hall, and the construction of an imposing brick frontage to the wooden hall in 1915, the venue was leased to Harry Empson, who presented film shows from 1916.

In 1923 the original wooden building was moved to an adjacent lot and a new venue was constructed behind the brick frontage. The new Avondale Town Hall opened on 31st October 1924, with films still being presented by Harry Empson.

In August 1927 the lease was taken over by Frederick William Meikle. Then, in 1930, Henry Hayward took over, and renamed the venue Hayward’s Picture House & Cabaret. In 1946 it was renamed the Grosvenor Theatre.

In early-1966 Jan Grefstad formed Metropolitan Films with Ray Melrose, and they took over the lease. They opened the renamed Hollywood Cinema on 11th March 1966 with “55 Days in Peking”, starring Charlton Heston.

From 1978 to 1988 the Hollywood Cinema presented cult favourite “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” every Friday and Saturday at 11.30pm.

In 1978, when a Wurlitzer organ that had originally been installed in the Regent Theatre, Auckland (see separate Cinema Treasures entry) was damaged while in an assembly hall at Hutt Valley High School, Wellington, Jan Grefstad agreed that it could be housed at the Hollywood Cinema. After four years of restoration, the organ was officially opened at a concert on 6th November 1982. (It was eventually relocated to the Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre, Auckland, in 2017.)

On 22 September 1992 Jan Grefstad bought the building from the council. After his death, in 2001, the Hollywood Cinema was acquired by Mark Matheson then, from 2015, by Matt Timpson. Under his management, the Hollywood Cinema alternates as a music venue and cinema, with themed film seasons and special events such as in 2019, when Richard O'Brien hosted a special screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. It is equipped with 35mm and digital projection.

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