The Crystal Palace Theatre

What was left of the Crystal Palace Theatre was demolished in 1986, I would have been 10.  My love for movies (and Christchurch’s history too actually) was planted in me when I was very young. During the school holidays, my mum and I would bustle down to the bus stop outside the Caltex Petrol Station …

The Crystal Palace Opened – 6th April 1918

On 6 April 1918, New Zealand’s first cinema to screen British films, the Crystal Palace, opened in the north side of Cathedral Square. It was also well known for its 32 metre tower that dominated Christchurch’s skyline for 5 decades. In 1963, the theatre was renamed Carlton Cinema and remained popular into the late 1980’s. …