 1999 exterior view of the Tuschinski TheatrePhoto courtesy of Ian Grundy
This Art Deco movie palace was the crowning achievement of Abraham Tuschinski. A self-taught Jewish tailor from Poland, Tuschinski was on his way to America about one hundred years ago, when he was waylaid in Rotterdam and ended up building a movie theater enterprise in Holland instead.
During the Second World War, Abraham Tuschinski and nearly his entire family died in Nazi concentration camps.
Built in 1921, the Tuschinksi was erected based on the designs of architect H.L. DeJong, with interior decor by Pieter den Besten and Jaap Gidding. The exterior is a cross between Art Deco and Gothic architecture.
It has two very striking towers flanking the front entrance which in turn has two rather gothic lamps. The main foyer is executed in the Art Deco style in rich reds and golds - with its paintings of paradise birds and peacocks, its plush and colourful carpet hand-woven in Morocco, and its bar of bronze and marble.
The elaborate main auditorium is no less breathtaking earning the theater the nicknames of 'plum cake' or 'dowager bonbon box'. The building also boasted not only a great movie hall, but a cabaret-dinner club named "La Gaité" , a Japanese tea room, a Moorish suite, and elegant foyers. A smaller auditoria has since been created from these rooms.
In 2001-2002, Amsterdam's monumental theater underwent a painstaking restoration project.
The historic auditorium 'Grote Zaal' currently seats 784. There is a classic film series which has a monthly slot in the programming. An additional five screens, ranging from 105 to 191 seats, are located in an adjacent building,
Contributed by Steve Lynch
|
|
Note: Please read our comment policy before posting. Comments which are off-topic, obscene, spam, or personal attacks will be removed. Help us keep the discussion productive!
|
The cross of the interior decoration is actually a mix of anything that Mr. Tuschinski liked, from Baroc to Art Deco to Jugendstill with Indian and Asian influences, which remarkably works very well.
In WWII the theatre was renamed as 'TIVOLI' by the Nazi regime.