Metro Cinema
35 Sharia Talaat Harb,
Cairo
35 Sharia Talaat Harb,
Cairo
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Here’s a vintage view of Soliman Pasha street with the Metro on the right (and the Miami on the left), from my postcard collection:
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The Metro Cinema can be seen mid-distance on the left of this May 2009 street scene:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moddathir/3713804153/
A photograph of the fire damaged Metro Cinema in January 1952:
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Here is a 2008 close-up view.
The introduction needs to be corrected. The theatre was a project of the International Division of Loew’s, Inc., parent company of MGM, which was the production arm. MGM itself did not own or operate theatres.
A night-time photograph of the Metro Cinema in March 2008:
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Viewed from the opposite direction:
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A closer view in December 2006:
http://flickr.com/photos/patrickmchugh/334548843/
Original poster frame:
http://flickr.com/photos/louise_al/2073742705/
The 1941 Film Daily Year Book claims that the theatre first opened “early in 1940” under the name of Loew’s Metro, designed exclusively for film presentations. Loew’s Metro was reported to be “the largest and finest in the Egyptian metropolis,” with a seating capacity of 1,527 (914 on the orchestra floor, 195 in the loge section, and 418 in the balcony). The auditorium was described as modern, “presenting alternate bands of acoustic and hard plaster, decorated in a general scheme of light chocolate, gold and cream. Exquisite native woods are used in foyers and public rooms.” Gaston Rossi of Cairo served as associate architect to Thomas W. Lamb, according to the FDYB article.
A photograph and some text on the Metro Cinema here:
http://www.hsje.org/cinema/cinema_metro.htm
Gary;Thanks for the update on the state of the Metro Cinema and for adding other Cairo Theatres. I hope you had a great time over there?
I just returned from three weeks in Egypt and at the end of our trip, after spending most of the day viewing Pharaonic treasures in the Egyptian Museum, I arranged for our guide to take my wife and I for an exterior viewing and photoshoot of the nearby Metro. Our guide, Sam, about 30 years old, was well familiar with the Metro, as he went on dates there when courting his wife.
Though I did not see the interior, I am happy to say that the exterior, though coated in dust like nearly all Cairo buildings from lack of rain, is almost completely in original condition. The only significant change apparent is a modern wedge-shaped marquee in place of the original rectangular canopy. The facade’s ornamental scheme is intact. The vertical sign is intact. Underneath the marquee is a wood-veneered streamlined box office with an art deco brass grille in the window.
The Metro still sits amid what is clearly an old movie theatre district. Some houses still operate, while others are closed.
Further history and photo’s regarding the Metro Cinema here http://www.egy.com/landmarks/97-05-15.shtml