Community Contributed

Regent Theatre

Kete Horowhenua2020-03-23T17:03:07+00:00
Levin's Regent Theatre was officially opened on 20 January 1926.
LocationJust north of the corner of Oxford and Bath Streets, Levin.

Levin's Regent was originally known as the De Luxe Theatre after the De Luxe Company, formed by Honi McMillan and Tom Donovan, who were granted the first lease of the building. It was a ten year lease and they were charged 10 pounds a week. The theatre's first movie was 'The White Sister'. The Regent Theatre was the venue for a wide variety of entertainment including amateur theatricals.

Levin Regent Theatre was designed by Wellington architect James Bennie (1873 - 1945) - a book on James Bennie by Tony Froude was published in 2005.

The theatre frontage in Oxford Street was 120 feet long, finished with brown tiles. It contained five shops, the entrance to the council offices and Social Hall, as well as the cinema foyer.

The Regent was demolished on the 3 July, 1984. The Horowhenua Historical Society staged a Farewell to the Regent on the 23 November 1983.

Regent Court was built on the old site and the new Regent 3 cinema was built on the North side of the Levin Mall carpark.