User:PumpHouse1/sandbox
Originally one of three pumping stations on the site providing freshwater for the local community the building housing the theatre was built in 1905 and opened in 1906. The pumping station was decommissioned in the 1940’s and the buildings were left to fall into disrepair. In 1968 two hundred people attended a public meeting in support of preserving the building and turning it into an arts venue. Things got heated as local residents clashed with council and North Shore Horticultural Society who also wanted the land. The casting vote of Mayor Fred Thomas saved the building and local residents, began to work tirelessly to renovate and convert the derelict building into a community theatre and arts centre.
The North Shore Theatre and Arts Trust was set up in 1971. The major fundraising begins with the establishing of the annual PumpHouse Picnics In 1983 The PumpHouse was listed as a Category II Historic Building under the protection of The New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Today, The PumpHouse Theatre is a vibrant, inclusive, artist-led arts centre operating as a venue for hire that proudly supports and encourages artists with a story to tell.
