Scala Filmtheater

Located in the city centre district of Altstadt-Nord Innenstadt. The Scala Variete Theatre screened the first movies in Koln in 1897. The live theater was converted into a cinema re-named Scala Tonbild Theater on 6th November 1909. The cinema was operated by Josef Hansberger. In 1914 it was re-named Palast Theater. In 1927 it was operated by Universum Film AG. In 1930 it was re-named for a short time Kino fur Jedermann and was operated by the Jedermann GmbH chain which operated 10 Jedermann cinemas in Koln. In 1936 it was renovated to the plans of architect Hans Stumpf and Liesenfeld. In 1943 the cinema was damaged by Allied bombs during World War II. It was repaired to the plans of architect Hans W. Raucke, who was based in Berlin. In 1945 it was destroyed by Allied bombs.

The cinema was rebuilt in 1950 to the plans of Koln based architect Hans Stumpf with seating for 570 in orchestra & balcony levels. It was re-named Kleine Scala (little Scala), because there were plans to build a bigger cinema named Grosse Scala (big Scala. But this never happened and in 1953 it was re-named Scala Filmtheater. It was operated by Werner Hurfeld. In 1954 it was equipped with CinemaScope and stereophonic sound. The size of the screen was 4.5 meters. The B 8 projectors were by Bauer. The cinema was closed in 1966.

Two other Scala’s operated in Koln. The Scala am Ring Filmtheater located at Hohenzollernring 48 in the district of Neustadt-Nord opened in 1968 and the Scala Lichtspiele Porz opened in 1919, located at Bahnhofstrasse 40-42 in the district of Porz. (Both of these have their own pages on Cinema Treasures).

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