In 1950s, after the privations of World War II, Hong Kong was starting to thrive again, and this was particularly significant in the entertainment market. At this time, the television has not yet taken over living rooms, and almost all neighbourhoods in the city had its own movie theatre. Competition was fierce, leading the way to ever more ambitious theatres to be built by local producers to attract the public.

This is how Harry Odell appeared in the picture. Born Harry Obadofsky from Russian Jewish parents in Cairo, Egypt, and educated in Shanghai, Odell spent his youth as a professional tap dancer in Nagasaki, Japan, later fighting for the US military in World War I in France before ultimately settling in Hong Kong in 1921, changing his name to Odell and marrying a socialite from a prestigious jewellers family. After fighting to defend Hong Kong during World War II and spending the Japanese occupation in a POW camp, he eventually launched a local film distribution business.

Harry Odell, @SCMP

In 1952, he unveiled the Empire Theatre in North Point, emphasising in an interview to The South China Morning Post that this was “not just another theatre”. At a time when buildings had to be built quickly and cheaply because of shortage of materials and financial constraints, this building was indeed a wonder. The local coverage at the time described the theatre as “gigantic” with its 56-foot cinema screen, 1,400 seats, a ceiling “cut in the shape of a diamond”, gold velvet curtains and an underground car park. The gala premiere featured Paramount’s latest comedy musical Just For You, starring Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman and Natalie Wood.

The Empire Theatre quickly became a cosmopolitan landmark for theatrical and musical performances. Odell persuaded internationally acclaimed artists and musicians to perform in Hong Kong, successfully lobbied the government to support cultural development, and thus, became “Hong Kong’s first impresario”. Due to the lack of proper concert halls in Hong Kong in the 1950s, the Theatre was an ideal alternative venue for recitals and it welcomed British tenor Peter Pears, British composer Benjamin Britten, American violinist Isaac Stern and American soprano Helen Traubel among others. At that time, North Point had also become a popular place for entertainment, being nicknamed “Little Shanghai” because of the migration of Shanghai refugees and socialites who brought with them capitals and different forms of entertainment.

Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten concert programme, 1956

In 1958, Odell sold the theatre to Hong Kong Enterprises, owners of the Queen’s Theatre in Central, who undertook massive renovations of the building in order to forge an entertainment hub for the East Asia region. The spacious lobby was converted into a shopping arcade and connected to a newly adjacent apartment block. The theatre was renamed State Theatre and it re-opened in February 1959, featuring the re-run movie Pal Joey, starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak.

Hub for live performances and film screenings, the venue featured local and foreign shows ranging from Western dramas, Mandarin Pop concerts and Cantonese opera to popular Mandarin and Cantonese films. Re-run English language and first run Mandarin language films were shown. The opening of the City Hall in 1962 shaded the State Theatre, but it remained a landmark, showing first run English language films like Lawrence of Arabia in 1965 and The Sound of Music in 1966, welcoming Taiwanese 17-year-old rising star in Chinese pop music Teresa Teng in 1970. It was also a favourite venue for Mandarin vaudeville shows in the early 1970’s.

State Theatre, @SCMP

The State Theatre accompanied the rise of cinema in Hong Kong in the post-World War II era when the city became Asia’s movie capital, producing over three hundred films per year and being dubbed the “Hollywood of the Far East”. It also witnessed the development of Hong Kong people’s cultural identities in the 1970s and 1980s, moving from mainly Hollywood productions in 1950s to Hong Kong local productions in 1970s until 1990s. Hong Kong movie lovers must have recognised the Theatre featured in the 1978 film Game of Death starring Bruce Lee and later in the 1998 film The Longest Summer, directed by Fruit Chan.

As the golden era of Hong Kong cinema came to an end in the late 1990s, the State Theatre finally closed its doors in 1997. Its final film was Mr. Nice Guy with Jackie Chan. It was converted into a shopping mall and a snooker ball in 2000. Both the external and internal structure were kept but its distinctive façade was obscured by billboards and, as the years went by, concerns grew among the public about a possible demolition of the emblematic building.

State Theatre roof top

Designed by architects Liu Sun-fo and George W. Grey, the Theatre had been known for its distinctive and iconic structure. The roof of the auditorium, suspended from external parabolic exoskeleton concrete roof trusses, was exposed to the public, and served as a prominent trademark of the building, reflecting the history of North Point. Such design was commonly used in infrastructures like bridges but extremely rare for buildings and the State Theatre has been the only cinema in the world with that unique structure.

The Theatre was – and still is – fronted by a huge decorative relief panel by renowned artist Mui Yu-tin, master from the Lingnan School of Painting, featuring the ancient Chinese tale of “The imperial warlord Dong Zhuo and the legendary beauty Diao Chan”. This distinctive Modernist and Art Deco artwork perfectly highlights the East-meet-West architectural style of old Hong Kong.

After years of substantial consolidated public efforts towards the preservation of the building and the ultimate declaration of experts engineers about the Theatre’s roof top structure being unique in the world, the State Theatre was finally listed as a Grade I historic building in 2017 by the Antiquities and Monuments Office. This is the highest grade awarded to “buildings of outstanding merit, which every effort should be made to preserve if possible” and is usually predominantly given to pre-war buildings. The State Theatre is the third post-war building in Hong Kong to be awarded Grade I, after the Bank of China building and the City Hall.

State Theatre @New World Development

In October 2020, New World Development led by Adrian Cheng successfully consolidated ownership of the Theatre, announcing a meticulous conservation project. The iconic parabolic exoskeleton truss at the roof will be conserved, while the revitalised architecture will be transformed into a new landmark for culture and arts by 2026. The group began to collect relics and memorabilia of the State Theatre and also initiated a systematic documentation of its oral history. Artefacts related to the Theatre and the North Point area, including components of its projectors, the theatre billboard, screening contracts will be curated and displayed in the future State Theatre.

Before launching the complete architectural restoration, Culture for Tomorrow, a non-profit organisation under the New World Group, had specially curated in April and May 2021 an exclusive event Discover the State Theatre in All of Us, where guests could travel back in time to the building’s golden age in the 1950s. The lobby ticket box office marked the start of their first-person immersive experience. They would then be invited to play a part in the history of State Theatre – from enjoying world-class performances at the Theatre, and discovering the story of “Little Shanghai”, to reminiscing about the popular Chinese and Western movies shown at the State Theatre, and all the heart-wrenching historical footage of the site.

The show at the State Theatre is far from over. Before it returns in 2026, Culture for Tomorrow will continue to organise and curate cultural activities, allowing the public a rare chance to relive the precious memories of the iconic and unique post-war building.

State Theatre, 279 King’s Road, North Point