MarketSt. James Theatre, Auckland
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St. James Theatre, Auckland

The St James Theatre is a historic stage theatre and cinema located on Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand. Built in 1928 to a design by Henry Eli White, it replaced the older Fuller's Opera House and was originally designed for vaudeville acts. It shortly started showing films and up until the early 2000s was used for both live performances and film. St James Theatre was damaged following a blaze at the building in 2007. Since 2017 it has been closed. Restoration work was scheduled to begin in 2024.

Description
The interior of St James Theatre is a mixture of traditional theatre and American cinema design. The interior is in a Spanish Colonial style and has marble steps and statuettes. The interior has influences from both Victorian and Edwardian theatres and more modern American movie palaces. It has three tiers of seating. The theatre had an entrance on Queen Street with a large terrazzo foyer and an exit onto Lorne Street. ==History==
History
St James Theatre was constructed in 1928 to replace the Wellesley Street Fullers' Opera House which had burnt down 2 years prior. It cost £80,000 to construct and took 9 months to complete. It was initially known as the 'New Opera House'. It was designed for vaudeville performances which were still popular at the time. In 1929 projection facilities were added and the theatre started to screen films alongside stage performances. The Odeon Cinema, Westend Cinema, and Regent Theatre were added onto the building in 1957, 1966, and 1982 respectively. The Odeon cinema was the first public space in New Zealand to have full air conditioning. ==References==
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