Tuam Street Hall and Women's Suffrage

On July 20, 1883, the Mayor of Christchurch, George Ruddenklau, presided over the opening of this building at 214 Tuam Street. It was known as the Tuam Street Hall or Tuam Street Theatre back then. A group called the Public Hall Company Ltd commissioned its construction.

Designed by Thomas Stoddart Lambert, the building was completed in 1883. It had two floors and was built in an Italianate architectural style with Venetian Gothic elements. The original stage was 60 feet wide and 40 feet deep, and the hall had a capacity of 2,200 people, with 600 seats in the gallery.

This place had many different uses over the years. It served as a public meeting place, an entertainment venue, and even a roller skate rink. In 1893, Kate Sheppard used it for her women's suffrage campaign. She held meetings here in her efforts to gain voting rights for women. The 1893 Electoral Act, passed on September 19, 1893, granted New Zealand women the right to vote, making them the first in the world to do so.

Later, this became known as the Odeon Theatre, and it was the oldest masonry theatre in New Zealand, and one of only three purpose-built 19th-century theatres left in the country. It was recognized as a Category I heritage building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, with registration number 3140 on November 26, 1981.

In 1927, the building was renovated by architect Sidney Luttrell. The original facade of the Tuam Street Hall had a significant parapet, which was removed in 1960. The theatre was damaged beyond repair on February 22, 2011, during the Christchurch earthquake and was partially demolished in September 2012.