The Civic Theatre is a large heritage combination performing-arts theatre, live-music venue, and cinema seating 2,378 people in Auckland, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it underwent a major renovation and two-year conservation effort in the late 1990s, and was reopened on 20 December 1999 (its 70th birthday). It is a famous example of the atmospheric theatre style wherein lighting and interior design create the illusion of an open sky complete with twinkling stars, giving the audience the impression of being seated in an outdoor auditorium at night. The Civic is managed by Auckland Live, a business unit of Auckland Unlimited.
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👉 Auckland Civic Theatre in the context of Atmospheric theatre
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting.
The most successful promoter of the style was John Eberson. He credited the Hoblitzelle Majestic Theatre (Houston, 1923, since demolished) as the first. Before the end of the 1920s he designed around 100 atmospheric theatres in the U.S. and a few other countries, personally selecting the furnishings and art objects. His most notable surviving theatres in the United States include the Tampa Theatre (1926), Palace Theatre (1928), Majestic Theatre (1929), Paramount Theatre (1929), and the Loew's Theatre (1929). Remaining international examples include The Civic Theatre (1929, Auckland, New Zealand), The Forum (1929, Melbourne, Australia), as well as two theatres completed in Sydney, Australia, the Capitol Theatre (1928) and State Theatre (1929) (both designed by Henry Eli White with assistance from Eberson), and Le Grand Rex, (1932, Paris, France) which was designed by architect Auguste Bluysen with assistance from Eberson.