Courtenay Place, Wellington
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Courtenay Place is the main street of the Courtenay Quarter in the
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 ...
inner-city district of
Te Aro Te Aro (formerly also known as Te Aro Flat) is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly fla ...
. Courtenay Place is known for its entertainment and nightlife. Many restaurants are open late and most of the bars stay open until dawn. It contains offices, accommodation, tourist shopping, entertainment, food, art and buskers offering many genres of free performance. Pedestrian traffic is substantial around the clock.


The arts

Every two years Courtenay Place is home to many of the New Zealand International Arts Festival events.
Bats Theatre BATS Theatre is a theatre venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Initially founded as the Bats Theatre Company in 1976, then established in its current form in 1989. BATS Theatre has seen the development of many performing arts talents of New Zeala ...
is a venue for the development of new theatre practitioners and plays.
Downstage Theatre Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Coli ...
, founded in 1964, was New Zealand's first professional theatre. It closed in 2013. Embassy Theatre ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' movie ''
The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, whi ...
'' had its world premiere at the Embassy Theatre at the head of Courtenay Place. The movies ''
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 ...
'' and ''
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 ...
'' both had their
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 premiere at the Embassy (Event Slide Shows). Both events were broadcast live to the world for many hours, involving the movement of record amounts of data by
CityLink CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Australia, linking the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other works. In 1996, Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two exi ...
. The theatre is on the Wellington City Council's heritage list in the District Plan.
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 ...
has recognised its heritage values with Category One registration, indicating a place of 'special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value'. It was originally known as the 'De Luxe' and was built in 1924. Designed by Llewellyn Williams and constructed of reinforced concrete, it included classical external and internal architectural details. The name changed to the Embassy in 1945. A long list of theatre identities has been associated with the theatre, including
William Kemball William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, who formed the De Luxe Theatre Company in 1923, and Sir Robert Kerridge. Kerry Robins, leaseholder of the Paramount Theatre in Wellington, took over the lease of the Embassy in 1996. It was purchased by the
Embassy Theatre Trust A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
in 1997 with financial underwriting of the refurbishment programme by Wellington City Council. Ownership was transferred to the WCC under the terms of the agreement. Embassy Theatre Trust subsidiary Company Financial report: Audit report In October 2005 Wellington film exhibitor Kerry Robins sold the operational management of the Embassy to Village SkyCity Cinemas. Paramount Theatre (no longer operational) was until 2017 the oldest surviving cinema in Wellington, still with its original name. Originally a part of Te Aro beach, in August 1916 the location of the Paramount was purchased by
John James Williamson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
. He arranged for architect
James Bennie James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...
to design a picture house. The cinema closed down in 2017, following its sale to developers. Reading Courtenay Central Complex contains shops, restaurants and a ten-screen multiplex cinema. The 8,000 m² development links Courtenay Place with the waterfront and was designed to complement the existing character of the strip. This project won the 2003 Property Council NZ Entertainment Excellence Award. The site was originally bulldozed in the mid-1980s by
Chase Corporation Chase Corporation was a property development company in New Zealand that flourished in the 1980s, became devalued in the 1987 New Zealand stock market collapse, and eventually collapsed in 1989. History Chase Corp had a major effect on the New Ze ...
for the proposed Wakefield Centre, but after the company fell victim to the 1987 sharemarket crash, the site remained derelict for years until it was purchased by
Reading Cinemas Reading Cinemas ( ) is a group of cinema chains operating in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. They are owned by the American company Reading International. History In the late 1980s, through his holding company the Craig Corp ...
. The complex was temporarily shut down for safety reasons, after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake damaged an adjacent parking building beyond repair. After reopening following the demolition of the parking building, the cinema section shut down again in 2019 due to further unseen structural issues.
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (Operating name for The New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua Me Ngā Taonga Kōrero.) is an archive that was launched on 31 July 2014, following the completion of a three-year process ...
(aka NZ Film Archive) was located on the corner of Ghuznee St and Taranaki St, a block from Courtenay Place. In 2019 it announced its relocation to the
National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...
on Molesworth St, due to earthquake concerns.
St James Theatre St. James Theatre is a Broadway theatre in New York City. St. James Theatre may also refer to: Australia * St. James Theatre, Sydney, multi-storey building in Elizabeth Street, not to be confused with diminutive St James' Hall, Sydney New Zeala ...
. Formerly His Majesty's (and more recently the Westpac St James Theatre), the St. James was designed for John Fuller and Sons Ltd by Mr
Henry Eli White Henry Eli White (21 August 1876 – 3 March 1952), also known as Harry White, was a New Zealand-born architect who is best known for the many theatres and cinemas he designed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1910s and 1920s. Many of the majo ...
Architect, structural engineer and contractor. It was the first steel-framed concrete-coated proscenium-arched theatre in the Southern Hemisphere. The steel frame allowed for an unsupported 80 ft (25 m) span roof structure and also provided good resistance to earthquake damage. In July 2011, Positively Wellington Venues, an integration between the Wellington Convention Centre and the St James Theatre Trust, began managing this theatre as well as The Opera House, Wellington. There are two other theatres that sit just outside the Courtenay Place district, Circa Theatre which sits on the waterfront near Te Papa; and Capital E, home of the National Theatre for Children, which is in Civic Square. The Opera House is in Manners Street.


Events

In 2017, TEDxWellington hosted 13 speakers and 1,000 delegates at the St. James Theatre on Courtenay Place.


Gallery

File:CourtenayPlaceReadingsPICT4985.jpg, Reading Cinemas on Courtenay Place File:WellingtonFireStation.jpg, Courtenay Place's fire station File:Courtenayplacejex.jpg, Courtenay Place, leading up to the Embassy Theatre. Rod's building (built 1902) is first left (pink) File:Building at 120-126 Courtenay Place, Wellington.jpg, 120 Courtenay Place with a restored facade. Settlers from China have been around Courtenay Place more than 150 years File:Wellington, May 2015 (4).JPG, Camera on a tripod outside 5 Courtenay Place File:View of Courtenay Place, Wellington.jpg, View of Courtenay Place looking back towards Mount Victoria File:BATS Theatre 05.jpg, BATS Theatre (next door to fire station)


Railway station

Courtenay Place's own railway station sat between Tory, Blair and Allen Streets bringing produce from the hinterland to the markets there and the milk to be processed before distribution from upper Tory Street. Rail's passenger traffic took to the trams when they were electrified in 1904 and the station closed during the first world war. The rails were torn up soon after.


Early development

The north-eastern side of Courtenay Place was beach until the 1855 earthquake when it became swamp drained by the stream from the Basin Reserve between Kent and Cambridge Terraces.Joseph Ward. ‘’Early Wellington’’
page 216 accessed 9 June 2020
The short-lived Te Aro Pa was at the higher end west of Taranaki Street and a remnant of a structure can be seen ''in situ'' at 39–43 Taranaki Street. By 1870 the Pa site which once covered as much as 80 acres had been sold and subdivided. The triangle at that end was designated a Market Reserve. The inland Taranaki Street corner became Rouse Black and Hurrell’s carriage manufactory in 1859 ( Hope Gibbons Ford lineal descendant) and the beachfront corner became Greenfield’s timber mill (Reading Cinemas) in 1862. The Wellington Gas Company put up its coal to gas and coke plant and gasometers on 3½ acres of reclaimed land in 1871 and their head office building beside it on the corner of Tory Street and Courtenay Place in 1898. The Gas Company building is currently labelled KFC. It is reported that "the first building of any importance in Courtenay Place was built shortly after 1900 by local butcher and businessman,
John Rod In 1876, John William Rod (1856–1920) migrated from England to New Zealand and embarked upon a successful business career. He became a well-respected New Zealander, noted for his contributions to industry, sport and local government. Migrati ...
JP". It is now a heritage listed building, originally designed by T S Lambert, situated on the eastern corner of Allen Street and Courtenay Place. Of brick construction, it originally had three stories and a large cellar, with stables at the rear (now 23 Allen street).Original Plans held by Wellington City Archives It has since been reduced to two stories, probably due to earthquake damage. In 2015, the ground floor and cellars accommodate a bar and restaurant.


References


External links


Courtenay Place 3D visitor guide
{{coord, -41.2936, 174.7816, region:NZ-WGN_type:landmark, display=title Streets in Wellington City Entertainment districts Arts districts Restaurant districts and streets Shopping districts and streets in New Zealand