Slated for demolition – The Majestic Theatre, Lichfield/Manchester St corner (image by BeckerFraserPhotos)
When I started this blog it was partly as a way of documenting the remaining Art Deco buildings in Christchurch before more of them succumbed to the wreckers ball. And so it is with the Majestic Theatre on Manchester Street which, despite the efforts of heritage campaigners, looks as if it too will be demolished.
The Majestic Theatre was built in 1930 by John Fuller and Sons Ltd, was designed by Alan Manson of the firm of S & A Luttrell (Sidney and Alfred) and it features some lovely Art Deco elements.
Ruth Helm in her PhD thesis, ‘The Architecture of Cecil Wood’ describes the decorative elements that feature on the Majestic in a discussion of the Māori motifs found on the later, Wood-designed State Insurance Building:
“…Maori motifs had appeared on the exterior of at least one other Christchurch public building, the Majestic Theatre designed by Alan Manson (1930), where the similarity between Maori and Art Deco motifs was exploited for the ornamentation of the pier caps which combines stylised fern fronds, palmettes, scallops, flutings, wave motifs and zig zags.” (Helm, 1996, pg 237)
Traditional Māori motif, the koru, meets Art Deco on The Majestic Theatre exterior (image from Canterbury Heritage).
Originally a theatre that could accommodate over 1600 people, and later a night club, at the time of the earthquakes it functioned as The Majestic Church.
For more see:
Garden City Deco 