Lee Theatre was a prominent theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 in Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, located on the Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai and Eastern districts. The Chinese name is also romanized as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road...

 on Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Once one of the premier performing venues in Hong Kong, the theatre was demolished in the 1990s and replaced with an office building and a shopping centre.

History

In the 1920s, the Hysan Lee family acquired lands in the Causeway Bay area. At the time, most of the venues for Cantonese opera

Cantonese opera

Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern China's Cantonese culture. It is popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing,...

 were located in Western District

Sai Wan

Sai Wan , or Western District, or simply Western, is an area in Hong Kong that corresponds to Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui, Belcher Bay and Kennedy Town....

. In order to save his mother, an avid Cantonese opera fan, from having to make frequent trips there, Lee decided to build a theatre in Causeway Bay. The theatre, located on Percival Street

Percival Street

Percival Street is a street in the East Point and Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street spans from Gloucester Road in the north to Leighton Road in the south...

 near Leighton Road

Leighton Road

Leighton Road is a main road in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai in Hong Kong. It begins east Causeway Road and ends west at the junction of Morrison Hill Road and Canal Road....

, was completed in 1925. Upon its opening, Hong Kong Tramways

Hong Kong Tramways

Hong Kong Tramways is a tram system in Hong Kong and one of the earliest forms of public transport in Hong Kong. Owned and operated by Veolia Transport, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Shau Kei Wan and Kennedy Town, with a branch circulating Happy Valley...

 began to run a special late night service from the theatre to Shek Tong Tsui

Shek Tong Tsui

Shek Tong Tsui is a town in Sai Wan on the north shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Administratively, it belongs to the Central and Western District....

. The Lee Theatre supposedly opened to business on 10 February,1927.

The theatre was renovated in the 1970s. From 1973 until the late 1980s, the theatre hosted the annual Miss Hong Kong pageant

Miss Hong Kong Pageant

The Miss Hong Kong Pageant , or MSHK for short, is a beauty pageant organized by the leading Hong Kong television station, Television Broadcasts ....

, organized by TVB (in which the Lee family held a stake). The theatre also hosted the Miss Universe pageant in 1976

Miss Universe 1976

Miss Universe 1976, the 25th Miss Universe pageant was held at Lee Theatre in Hong Kong on July 11, 1976 morning, namely July 10 evening in United States. Rina Messinger earned Israel's first Miss Universe crown...

.

Over the years, numerous artists gave performances at the theatre, including Roman Tam

Roman Tam

Roman Tam, known by the stage name Lo Man , nickname Law Kee , was a renowned Hong Kong Cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".-Career:...

, Teresa Teng

Teresa Teng

Teresa Teng , was an immensely popular and influential Chinese pop singer from Taiwan. Teresa Teng's voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout East Asia and in areas with large Asian populations...

 and Liza Wang

Liza Wang

Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun, SBS, commonly known as Liza Wang, is an accomplished diva, actress and MC in Hong Kong. She is a well-known personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The Big Sister" in the HK entertainment circle...

.

Along with hosting Cantonese opera and concerts, the theatre also showed films. The last one it screened before closing down was Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...

.

Redevelopment

By the 1980s, property prices in Hong Kong skyrocketed, and the Lee family began to consider demolishing the theatre to develop the prime land it sat on. The land was sold to Hysan Development

Hysan Development Company Limited

Hysan Development Company Limited is a property investment, management and development company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company's roots in Hong Kong date back to 1923, when Lee Hysan acquired plots of land in East Point, now known as Causeway Bay...

 (the family's corporate arm) in March 1991, and the theatre closed four months later, on 19 August,1991. Roman Tam

Roman Tam

Roman Tam, known by the stage name Lo Man , nickname Law Kee , was a renowned Hong Kong Cantopop singer. He is regarded as the "Godfather of Cantopop".-Career:...

 bided farewell to the theatre with a special concert, and RTHK's Television Division also prepared a special programme commemorating the theatre.

The site was redeveloped into the Lee Theatre Plaza, a commercial building which was completed in 1995. There was also a movie cinema within the new building.