Astoria was a
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
...
in
Stockholm, located on
Nybrogatan
Nybrogatan is a street in the borough of Östermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden. Approximately one kilometre in length, it stretches north from Nybroplan to Valhallavägen.
Before 1864, the northern part of Nybrogatan above Östermalmstorg ...
, a street in the
Östermalm
Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous districts in Stockholm. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest housing ...
district. When it closed, it was one of the last single screen cinemas in Stockholm.
It was the flagship of the
Astoria Cinemas chain which declared bankruptcy in 2007.
History
Astoria was established in 1928 in an existing property at Nybrogatan 15 by . The assignment was from Adling's childhood friend, film director . Astoria was his first "big cinema". Astoria was used extensively for film premieres, not only for Sandrew's own productions but also from
Europafilm
Europafilm was an influential Swedish film company established in 1929 by Schamyl Bauman and Gustaf Scheutz.
The office was located at Kungsgatan in central Stockholm, while the film studio was located in Mariehäll, Bromma, northwest of Stock ...
which did not have a large cinema of its own.
When Astoria opened on 8 September 1928, it had 820 seats of which 119 were on the stands and the balconies. Behind the screen, there was a stage to be used for vaudeville and live theatre, as well as space for a 12-man orchestra to accompany silent films. The premises were lavishly decorated with marble floors in the foyer and a curtain designed by the artist . Minor changes to the decor occurred in 1931 and 1944.
In 1959 the cinema went through a complete renovation, removing the balconies in the lounge to install a brighter parquet. The projection room was enlarged and equipped with projectors to display 70 mm film. The number of seats was reduced to 678. Later seating upgrades reduced the number of seats further. In 2006, the number of seats was 501.
The planned demolition of the Astoriahuset ("Astoria House") has later become a political issue in Stockholm.
[Andersson, Elisabeth. "Nya Astoriahuset ger girigheten ett ansikte", Svenska Dagbladet. Published 25 January 2018. Accessed on 9 August 2018.]
References
{{Commons category, Biograf Astoria, Astoria cinema
Theatres in Stockholm