Princess Theatre / (old) St James Theatre

The building that housed the Princess Theatre was built in upper High Street in the late 1840's, initially as a horse bazaar.  In 1862, Shadrach Jones had the bazaar renovated to enable it to be converted to a theatre in the evenings after horse trading was concluded. He named it The Princess Theatre. By the end of February, the Bazaar was able to be transformed using a series of 'mechanical contrivances' into a working theatre, including proscenium arch decorated with cupids and flowers, Corinthian pillars, green baize curtains, two chandeliers and fifty lamps to light the auditorium. Keroseen lamps served as footlights for the stage, which measured 32 feet by 22 feet, and could be folded up during the daytime for the resumption of horse bazaar activities. The theatre's name was painted and illuminated on the side of the building.

The theatre proved such a success that Shadrach Jones decided to end the horse bazaar business and rebuilt the theatre as a proper permanent theatrical establishment. The Princess became the first theatre in Dunedin to show motion pictures when a projection box was built in the upper circle in 1897. It remained, however, a multi-purpose theatre which primarily presented variety shows, with the occasional film screening.

In 1930, Fullers took over the Theatre and renovated it to screen 'talkies'. the cinema reopened as The St James Theatre in 1931 with an upper circle, circle and stalls, and seating for an audience of 1,160.

The St James was taken over by Kerridge-Odeon in 1946 and was used to screen action films. Due to a combination of the poor quality of films being shown, an inconvenient location and high overheads, the Theatre closed for good in 1951, and was demolished in 1958.