Work Starts on Fullers’ New Theatre.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18640, 18 December 1928, Page 9

Work Starts on Fullers’ New Theatre.

'MAY BE READY FOR CARNIVAL WEEK NEXT NOVEMBER.

COST OF BUILDING WILL BE ABOUT £45,000.

The tender of Messrs P. Graham and Son has been accepted for the erection of the new Majestic Theatre in Christchurch for Messrs John Fuller and Sons, and a start was made this morning with the excavations.

The cost of the building will be about £45,000, exclusive of the seating and furnishings, and it is hoped that it ivill be completed in time to be used during Carnival Week next November. Eleven tenders were received* including two from large North Island constructional firms w r hich have specialised in theatre and steel frame construction. The tendering was very close, there being a difference of only £2OOO between the lowest five.

The new theatre is being erected at the corner of Lichfield and Manchester Streets, opposite the Clock Tower, and the existing buildings are now in process of being, demolished. Messrs Graham and Sons’s contract is to be completed in six and a half months. A most elaborate set of plans comprising some 32 sheets has been prepared in the Christchurch office of the architects, Messrs S. and A. Luttrell. The theatre will be the first modern steel-framed building to be erected in Christchurch, although this type of construction has been adopted extensively in the other cities of the Dominion for some time past. It will have a frontage to Manchester Street of 90ft and will exend back along Lichfield Street for k distance of 190 ft.

The Manchester Street frontage will include the main entrance, 20ft wide, three shops, and an entrance to the portion of the first floor of the building which is to be available for letting as offices and suites.

The auditorium will be 81ft wide and 74ft long. The stage will have a depth of 41ft and a width of 87ft and the proscenium arch will be 41ft wide. Although it is intended that the new theatre will be used primarily for the screening of pictures, full provision is being made for its use for large musical productions. The appointments will be on the most modern lines.