Aotea Centre
Encyclopedia
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
, Auckland City
Auckland City
Auckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Located at the western edge of Aotea Square
Aotea Square
Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD, of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies....
, off Queen Street
Queen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
, the centre provides cultural venue space in the heart of the city and is managed by 'The Edge
The Edge Performing Arts & Convention Centre
The Edge is New Zealand's largest performing arts and convention centre complex / organisation. It is a Council Controlled Trading Organisation of Auckland City Council and comprises:* Aotea Centre, a modern events centre...
' (which also operates the Auckland Town Hall
Auckland Town Hall
The Auckland Town Hall is a historic building on Queen Street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions , as well as for its famed Great Hall and its separate Concert Chamber...
and the Auckland Civic Theatre
Auckland Civic Theatre
The Auckland Civic Theatre is a large heritage theatre seating 2,378 people in central Auckland, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it was reopened in 2000 after a major renovation and conservation effort...
, both close by around the square). The main construction of the centre was finished in 1989, with the centre opening in 1990 having cost NZ$ 128.5 million.
The centre provides a range of foyers, gallery spaces and function rooms as well as a 2,256 seat 'ASB Auditorium' and the much smaller 186-seat Herald theatre, which is mainly used by small independent theatre companies.
In 2011, an upgrade of Aotea Square also included a major facelift of the public stairs in front of the centre, including creating a cafe space under a large veranda open to the square.