The Embassy Theatre is a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, 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 authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

and temporarily administered by the Embassy Theatre Trust. Management rights were sold to

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

in October 2005, and is now part of AHL owned

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

. 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) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

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 ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical 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 ...

, 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 The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

) grant provided by the

Wellington City Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, ...

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 earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, 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 usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

, 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

. 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 region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

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''. It takes place in the fiction ...

'' and ''

The Two Towers ''The Two Towers'' 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''. Title and publication ''The Lord of the R ...

''. The theatre held a red carpet screening of

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

's ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' 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 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

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