Box 04 · The story behind the box

The WestEnd Theater

Do you remember the interval tray — or still calling it the Tivoli?

Everybody's, Tivoli, WestEnd — three names and generations passing through the same doors.

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

The verified story

One address. More than one chapter.

Before it was the WestEnd, it was the Tivoli; before the Tivoli, it was Everybody's. The 1915 cinema was remodelled in Art Deco style in 1934 and altered again when it became the WestEnd in 1971. The names changed, but generations kept passing through the same Cathedral Square doors. Its final films screened in 1994, yet Christchurch memories still move freely between all three names.

1915–1934
Everybody's Theatre

William Gray Young's original cinema opened with seating for more than a thousand people.

1934–1971
Tivoli Theatre

Cecil Wood, with input from Paul Pascoe, remodelled the building in Art Deco style.

1971–1994
WestEnd Theater

A further facade alteration and new name introduced the final cinema era.

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.

1915

Everybody's opens

Mayor Henry Holland opens Everybody's Theatre on 1 February. Warfare in the Skies is among the first films shown.

1934

The Tivoli arrives

A complete Art Deco redesign reopens the theatre as the Tivoli on 23 March.

1970–1971

Becoming the WestEnd

The auditorium and facade are refurbished before the cinema reopens under the WestEnd name.

1994

The final cinema era ends

After almost eighty years of cinema use across three names, the theatre closes on 21 July.

2003–2007

One last attempt — then demolition

The facade is restored and a Tivoli neon sign returns, but the proposed redevelopment does not succeed. Demolition begins in May 2007.

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.

WestEnd Theater refreshment boy Mark Dingwall with an ice-cream tray
Mark Dingwall worked Friday and Saturday performances as a WestEnd ice-cream refreshment boy, 1988. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-2338 Open the archive record ↗
Cathedral Square at night, the square the WestEnd stood on
Cathedral Square after dark — the square itself, not the WestEnd building. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-4235
The Tivoli Theatre auditorium, with rows of seats seen from the stage, during the 1970 refurbishment
Tivoli auditorium during refurbishment, 1970, ahead of reopening as WestEnd. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-25676 Open the archive record ↗
Rema Short, manager at the WestEnd Theater, standing on a curved staircase
Rema Short, manager at the WestEnd Theatre, on the stairs, 1972. Christchurch Star / Allied Media, via Christchurch City Libraries (Canterbury Stories) · ccl-cs-36891 Open the archive record ↗

Back on the bill

The films we remember.

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

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 WestEnd photographs →

Visual memories

Queues, the square and the last years.

Open the album

Help us remember

What detail can only you add?

  1. Did your family call it Everybody's, the Tivoli or the WestEnd?
  2. What was your interval order?
  3. Who do you remember behind the counter?

From memory to keepsake

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

The WestEnd 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 WestEnd photographs Deluxe directions ↗