Bridgeway Cinema

Located in the North Shore suburb of Northcote, in Auckland, the Bridgeway Cinema opened in 1927 as the Onewa Picturedrome. It was housed in a large existing building which was also home to the offices of the Auckland Star, a chemist’s shop, a hairdressers, a tobacconist and the Waitmata Bus and Transport Company’s depot. (When that company was first established, after the First World War, its distinctive red buses were housed in an old wooden barn behind the cinema - where Screen 2 is today!)

By 1929 the cinema had been renamed the Palais, due to the free dances, parties and fancy dress shows that took place after the film shows, with the seats pushed back against the walls.

In the 1930’s, however, perhaps due to a change in its usage, the venue was renamed the King’s Theatre.

The cinema acquired its current name as a result of a radio competition held after the opening of the nearby Auckland Harbour Bridge in May 1959.

The Bridgeway Cinema has been sub-divided and added to over the years. Precise details and dates are not known, but the cinema currently has four screens: Screen 1:153 seats, Screen 2:41, Screen 3:123 and Screen 4 (the ‘Boutique’ auditorium):18

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