More Info →Looking Down Coleman Mall towards the Palace Theatre

Description

This photograph shows cars and pedestrians on Coleman Mall (then Coleman Place). The Palace Theatre was built in 1915 on the site formally occupied by the Manawatu Stables. The first talking pictures to be shown in Palmerston North opened here in 1929. The Palace continued operation until 9 February 1935 when the theatre was badly gutted by fire. It was not until 1936 that the theatre reopened after extensive work was done. The front veranda roof decorations and much of the interior woodwork was replaced at this time. Palmerston Amusements Ltd owned the theatre at the time of the fire. They had planned to open a new 1300 seat theatre in its place, but this never eventuated. Instead, the newly refurbished building reopened as The Mayfair. The Mayfair became part of the Kerridge Odeon Corporation in 1946 and continued until 1965 when it was closed for a modernisation works. The theatre reopened later in 1965 as The Odeon, the name it held until the building's demolition in 1992. Harvey Norman now stands in its place next to the junction of Coleman Mall and George Street.

Identification

Object type

Image

Relation

Public Photograph Collection T 28

Date

circa 1920

Digitisation ID

2014N_T28_009101

Held In

Coolstore