The Civic

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The Civic is a large heritage theatre seating 2,378 people in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it was reopened in 2000 after a major renovation and conservation effort. It is a famous example of the atmospheric theatre style, in which lights and design were used to convey an impression of being seated in an outdoor auditorium at night, creating the illusion of an open sky complete with twinkling stars. The Civic is managed by Auckland Live, a business unit of Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA).SignificanceThe Civic is internationally significant as the largest surviving atmospheric cinema in Australasia and the first purpose-built cinema of its type in New Zealand. It is also known for its Indian-inspired foyer, which includes seated Buddhas, twisted columns and domed ceilings. The main auditorium is of a similarly exotic style, imitating a Moorish garden with turrets, minarets, spires and tiled roofs, as well as two life-sized Abyssinian panther statues. Accommodating 2,750 people at its opening, The Civic is still the largest theatre in New Zealand even at its current reduced seating.HistoryThe Civic was the creation of Thomas O'Brien, who built a movie empire in Auckland's inner suburbs in the 1920s, and brought the atmospheric cinema to New Zealand when he opened Dunedin's Moorish-style Empire De Luxe Theatre in 1928 (today, the Rialto multiplex houses several small cinemas inside the original one in Moray Place.) O'Brien persuaded a group of wealthy Auckland businessmen to build a massive atmospheric cinema on Queen Street and also managed to secure a £180,000 loan from the Bank of New Zealand for the build. The cinema was built by Fletcher Construction. However, the BNZ loan and soaring construction costs caught the attention of the New Zealand Parliament, while the final price tag ballooned to over £200,000 (approximately NZ$18.9 million in 2016).