The Embassy Theatre is a cinema in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, located at the Eastern end of Courtenay Place in the shadow of Mount Victoria. Originally built in 1924, the building has undergone a series of remodellings and changes in ownership. It is currently owned by the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the city of Wellington, the country's capital city and List of cities in New Zealand#City councils, third-largest city by popul ...

and temporarily administered by the Embassy Theatre Trust. Management rights were sold to SKYCITY Cinemas in October 2005, and is now part of AHL owned

Event Cinemas Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 cinema complexes currently operati ...

. The building is recognised as a place of historical/cultural significance by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

and is the only custom-built 1920s cinema still in use in New Zealand.

Building history

Designed by Llewelyn Williams, the building opened on October, 31st, 1924, operated by De Luxe Theatres. In 1945, the original name of the theatre ("De Luxe") was changed to "The Embassy". Originally seating 1,749, remodels done during the 1960s - including installation of a 70 mm screen,

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

, and false ceilings reduced seating to 852. Further remodels were undertaken in the early 2000s in advance of the world premiere screening of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. The remodel was underwritten by a $4.5 million ( NZD) grant provided by the

Wellington City Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

Council. Part of the condition of providing this funding was that ownership of the building be given to the Council. In addition to strengthening the building against the city's many

earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...

, renovations also included an update to the interior to bring it more in keeping with the original theatre design.

Building features

Designed in the

classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

, the interior of the Embassy Theatre includes a marble staircase with brass fittings, tiled walls and floors, and dark wooden fixtures. Many of the furnishings reflect the overall style, which even carries into the design of the restrooms, which mirror the tiling with and dark wooden fixtures found elsewhere in the theatre. The theatre has three screens, the largest of which is thought to be one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Other amenities include a snack bar and Blondini's Cafe and Jazz Lounge, which provides a wide selection of food and drink options in addition hosting live

jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, m ...

. The ground floor also contains the Black Sparrow cocktail bar and two smaller cinemas.

Hosted world premieres

The theatre was thrust into the international cinematic limelight when it hosted the world premiere of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' on December 1, 2003. Nearly 120,000 people lined the red carpet along Courtenay Place to watch the procession of actors and filmmakers as they made their way into the theatre for the screening. The theatre also hosted the

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

n premieres of ''

The Fellowship of the Ring ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien; it is followed by ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. The action takes place in th ...

'' and ''

The Two Towers ''The Two Towers'', first published in 1954, is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''. The volume's t ...

''. The theatre held a red carpet screening of

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

's ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' in 2005 and the 2012 world premiere of '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey''.

Other events

The Embassy Theatre also takes part in the New Zealand International Arts Festival as well as the

New Zealand International Film Festival The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) () is a film festival held annually across New Zealand. The festival is operated by the New Zealand Film Festival Trust. It programmes international and New Zealand films. History The festiva ...

References

External links

Embassy Theatre's official website
* * {{cite web, url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/69200449/more-restoration-repairs-for-wellingtons-embassy-theatre , title= More restoration repairs for Embassy Theatre , publisher= Stuff (Fairfax) , date=11 June 2015 Theatres in Wellington City Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region Theatres completed in 1924 Cinemas in New Zealand 1920s architecture in New Zealand