Box 03 · The story behind the box

The Avon Theater

Do you remember climbing the chrome-railed stairs beneath the Art Deco glow?

Worcester Street's Art Deco cinema — remembered for its foyer, lounge and unmistakable facade.

See the Avon photographs Read the history See it on the map
Shop the Collector’s Box Includes the Avon box · coming soon
The Avon Theater collectible box design

The verified story

One address. More than one chapter.

The Avon was purpose-built for a new era of sound pictures. Opened in 1935, its Art Deco and Streamline Moderne design gave Christchurch a foyer of chrome railings, an upstairs lounge and a spacious auditorium. It survived a serious fire and reopened, showing films until 1989. Later uses kept part of the building alive, but the memories still begin with the stairs, the foyer, the first date and the interval.

1935–1989
Avon Theater

A purpose-built cinema designed by Collins and West with Llewellyn E. Williams.

1989–2000
Post-cinema years

The closed theatre stood empty, suffered another fire and was prepared for redevelopment.

2000–earthquake closure
The Holy Grail

A multi-level sports bar occupied the retained former theatre facade and redeveloped interior.

Through the years

The official record.

This timeline draws on the Canterbury Stories history as its editorial spine. Dates and names are kept separate from the shorter era labels printed on the collectible box.

1934–1935

A modern cinema takes shape

The old Federal Club is removed and a new steel-framed theatre is built to contemporary earthquake standards.

1935

The Avon opens

The finished theatre opens on 15 May with Blossom Time.

1946–1947

Fire and reopening

A serious fire damages the theatre on 8 August 1946. It reopens on 27 August 1947.

1967

A modernised Avon

Further renovations update the cinema. Canterbury Stories records it as the first Christchurch theatre to provide wheelchair access.

1989–2013

After the final film

The cinema closes in 1989. The former theatre later becomes the Holy Grail sports bar, suffers earthquake damage and is demolished in 2013.

This cinema was one chapter in a much larger Christchurch story. Place it in the wider timeline

Inside the archive

Photographs from the Christchurch Star / Allied Media collection, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories), with their catalogue IDs.

The Art Deco facade of the Avon Theater on Worcester Street
The Avon's Worcester Street facade showing Eyes of Laura Mars, May 1979. Avon photograph
Shona Cossar seated inside the Avon Theater after being held up at gunpoint
Shona Cossar at the Avon Theatre after a gunpoint hold-up, 1970. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-25867 Open the archive record ↗
A centennial thanksgiving service filling Cathedral Square
A centennial thanksgiving service filling Cathedral Square. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-4198
Rows of people seated at a Police Department seminar inside the Avon Theater
Audience at a Police Department seminar, Avon Theatre, 1971. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-36393 Open the archive record ↗

Back on the bill

The films we remember.

Opening nights, familiar titles and the films linked to Avon.

Explore the films

What people remember

The history books cannot tell this part.

The album gathered for this collection shows the queues, the square, the 1979 Regent fire and the last years of the cinemas: archive photographs, each with its source credit.

See the Avon photographs →

Visual memories

Queues, the square and the last years.

Open the album

Help us remember

What detail can only you add?

  1. What do you remember about the chrome stairs or Art Deco interior?
  2. Did you meet someone outside the Avon sign?
  3. Which film was your first — or last — at the Avon?

From memory to keepsake

The Avon Theater is one of four stories in the collection.

The Avon box of Intermission Treats — orange coated chocolate — will be available exclusively from Deluxe Cinemas: at our box office at The Tannery or through our official online store, alongside the other three cinema keepsakes.

See the Collector’s Box See the Avon photographs Deluxe directions ↗