Cinema Diana - Cairo, Egypt - Vintage Movie Theaters on Waymarking.com

This old movie theater is located on the corner of Mohammed Bek Al Alfi and Emad el-Deen. This is Downtown Cairo and an area with many other cinemas, vintage and modern.

Diana Cinema opened in the 30's. by then as Diana Palace Cinema. As other cinemas it was hit by a bomb, in January 1952.

Its facade is Art Deco and it hides a magnificent interior.

It was designed by Gaston Rossi, from Dominioni, Rossi & Salama, and although it was renovated in the 60's, it remains faithful to the original concept, untouched by modernization.

From
(visit link)


"Decorated with traditional geometric art deco designs incorporating glass and chrome, Diana Palace’s foyer is typical of the movie theatres of the 1930s. Complex groupings of rectangle and trapezoid shapes festoon the majestic wrought iron double staircase which leads to the landing. There, a magnificently carved mirror reflects the thousand sparkling lights of a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In complete contrast to the lavishly decorated foyer, the auditorium with its seating capacity of 1,500, has sober light fixtures set on the typically austere Art Deco lines of its walls.

In its heyday, Diana Palace was a prestigious first-run movie theatre, with a mixture of elegance and artistry, where smoking jackets and long flowing gowns were de rigueur and where during the entr’acte – the interval – the beau monde went out in the foyer to sip Martinis and smoke Havanas. Produced by the owners of Nahas Films, Edmund and Gabriel, the first Arabic musical film, George Abyad’s ‘Song of the Heart’ (Onshoudat al-Fouad) was released on 4 April 1932 at Cinema Diana Palace.

Today, Cinema Diana is relegated to the category of ‘second-class’ cinema, playing mainly Egyptian films and often double-features, to mostly empty houses. Nevertheless, this magnificent example of a stylish art deco movie theatre should be considered lucky because it has escaped the fate of many of its contemporaries."

Number of Screen(s): 1 Web site: [Web Link] Year Theater Opened: Not listed Ticket Price (local currency): Not Listed Matinee Price (local currency): Not Listed Concessions Available: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Must take a photo of the theater.
Please try to include yourself or gps in the picture.
Tell of your experience at the theater, if it is still a theater. If it is no longer a theater tell of an experience from the past at the theater, if this can be done.

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