- Type of Building: Former Movie Theatre/Cinema.
- Date of Building: 1916
- Architects: J.S. and M.J. Guthrie (brothers) prominent architects of the time.
- Materials of Construction: Brick, façade of stucco.
- Style: Californian style with art nouveau details.
- Previous Buildings on site: An early house and gardens - 1860's, and possibly earlier shops.
Legal History Of The Land - Part Town Section 37
Early land records involve several town sections together.
- 18 October 1850: The Crown grants town sections 33 to 42 (10 sections) to Russell and others.
- 6th August 1859: Russell and others lease town sections 37, 39 and 40 to Wormald.
- 1862: Assignment of leasehold premises. Mrs Jane Wormald leases town section 37 only to John Thomas Rouse, a surgeon. This transaction makes mention of buildings, so there were buildings on the site before 1862. Rouse raises a mortgage on the 'building'. [The 1868 'Ratepayers Roll' lists a J.T. Rouse as paying rates on Town section 37 for a house and garden. Prior to the 24th October 1870 ('the date of the great fire of Lyttelton') Dr Rouse lived at TS 37 on London Street where he owned a large house and gardens for which he paid rates of £70 a year. At this time Dr Rouse owned what is now the St Joseph's School playground in Winchester St as a croquet ground. Rates were levied at £5 rates per year for his croquet ground. Dr Rouse was Mayor of Lyttelton from 1875-77.]
- 1868-1893: In the land deeds, town section 37 is now once again recorded with other properties. A. Creyke gains the property as he marries Elizabeth, the widow of Russell, the original owner from 1855; the certificate of title is issued to her when A. Creyke dies in 1898.
- 26th July 1916: Arthur William Lane buys part of town section 37 as it is now subdivided. He pays £550. At this time the current dimensions of the plot are recorded: 24 ½ perches.
- September 1916: Lane transfers to Lyttelton Pictures Ltd.
This is the time of the building of the cinema as its architecture is of this period and there are two mortgages taken out in 1917 and 1922.
There are also early photographs of the London street area that show the existence of the building about 1916. There are good photographs of it during the 1919 Peace celebrations (this did not take place in 1918 because of the flu epidemic.)
Advertisements for the cinema appear in the early 1920's in the Lyttelton Times.
- 1965: Transferred to cinema business: Masters Enterprises Ltd.
- 1980: Transferred to Frederick E Read, film librarian of TVNZ.
History and Architectural Features
The Harbour Light Theatre is an important part of the streetscape and is a landmark building in Lyttelton.
Early Lyttelton Picture Venues
Prior to its construction, the Salvation Army had featured early promotional and Temperance films. By 1900 Lyttelton had enjoyed Montgomery and Hall’s Cinematography shows, at the Oddfellows hall on Winchester St (this building burnt down in 1961). This was followed in 1902 with Stevenson’s Bioscope shows and then in 1906 Valentine’s picture Company gave shows using a biograph. 1907 saw the continued use of a biograph when Britt Nelson introduced the popular drama The Kelly Gang.
Moving Pictures continued to grow in popularity Buckingham Pictures screened shows monthly until 1910, then Pathe Pictures had set shows fortnightly and increased these to twice weekly by 1911.
Local businessmen saw the chance of a successful venture so the Guthrie brothers, architects: J.S and M.J Guthrie were engaged to design the picture house for Lyttelton Picture Company. The deputy mayor and local businessman Mr. J.T Norton opened the picture house on 20th March 1917. Using a Nicholas Power Company projector the first feature film screened was Deep Purple, after which the comedian Charlie Chaplin was featured. At the time of opening The Press described the Harbour Light Cinema as having 550 seats in stalls and circle and the 'most up to date in the dominion'.
The Harbour Light Theatre
The front of this building is 2 storeys high, with a mezzanine floor for the circle. 1916 is an early time for film theatres, this was one of the first theatres that showed silent movies and the pianist: Bert Hoyle played in the 'pit' to accompany and set the scene for the action in the film. Mr Hoyle (of 45 Cornwall Rd) is described by senior residents as a "dapper man, always in grey suit, white shirt and black bow tie who was never seen out without his bowler hat" who also played the organ at Lyttelton’s Holy Trinity Church.
The Lyttelton cinema was built in a very appropriate style - the 'Californian Style', reflecting California as the birthplace of popular cinema. The Guthrie brothers also designed the notable Californian bungalow style Christchurch house Los Angeles, 110 Fendalton Rd (which is still exists in near original state; Edmonds factory (now demolished); Christchurch Boys High School on Straven Rd and St Georges Hospital.
Another contemporary building is the Auckland Grammar school (1916), which is built in the Californian Mission style.
The style also features a blend of the more usual public buildings characteristics: large classical columns surround the entranceway; quoin stones are used to represent stone and there are brackets under the central cornice between the two towers. The towers are grand decorative brick structures, with stucco finish; each one having porthole shaped windows at the top with urn like features at each corner with a small round dome at the top. Senior residents of Lyttelton remember when these tower windows had coloured lights shining from them. The towers also have flagpoles, which was a characteristic feature of many of Lyttelton’s buildings at the time.
The theatre entrance has the additional feature of the fine art nouveau decorative patterned glass work; this is obscured from street level by the 1930's awning but can be viewed from across the road.
The building is typically brick at the sides and back and has stucco finish for the façade. For many years painted on the building's brick profile was a large Plume advertisement. The entrance lobby retains original features, but the auditorium was extensively altered and the brick walls were covered over with wallboard. The plaster ceiling is an original feature.
An early owner of the theatre and local resident, Jack Morse, remembers the original stage being larger and used for vaudeville shows shortly after the First World War. The dance class and local schools also used it for concerts. Senior residents of Lyttelton recall during oral history interviews the excitement of when the 'talkies' arrived in April 1930 and how the 'picture' became a regular social outing for residents, especially on Saturdays when the serials were shown. As the highlight of their week, many families had set reserved seats that they always sat in and at half time the cinema goers would dash across the road to the Kreamy Milk Bar for ices and refreshments. It was the social centre of the port in its picture house years.
The Harbour Light Theatre is an important part of the social history of the town as well as being a landmark of architectural significance.
