The Loons (venue)

The Loons is a music and performance events venue in Lyttelton, Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. The building was constructed at 16 Canterbury Street, Lyttelton in 1905. Businesses that occupied the building from 1905 to the 1920s included a grocery shop, a bakery and a tailor. During the 1920s and 1930s a motor vehicle garage operated in the building. The building was offered for sale by tender in May 1935. A transport business, the Lyttelton Carrying Service, operated from the site from 1935 through until 1942. In 1944, the building became the Lyttelton Waterside Workers Social Club, known as "The Loons", after it was purchased by three watersiders. In 1949, the Waterside Workers Social Club applied to the Licensing Control Commission for a club charter for the site. In 1952, the name of the social club was changed to Lyttelton Working Men's Club (Inc). In 2006, the Lyttelton Working Men's Club was facing the prospect of closing the Loons building, but a Lyttelton theatre director Mike Friend took over the lease. The Loons opened as a performance venue on 31 March 2007 with a cabaret with Joe Bennett. The theatre group took on the name of the building to become The Loons Theatre Company, using the venue as a rehearsal space during the day, and providing waiter service at night. Over 400 events were staged at the venue over a period of 5 years, ranging from co

Venue data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).