The Life Theater, which was later known as the Teofilo Villonco Building, was an Art Deco movie theater located Quiapo,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. It was designed by

Pablo Antonio Pablo Sebero Antonio, Sr. (January 25, 1901 – June 14, 1975)CCP Encyclopedia, p. 298 was a Filipino architect. A pioneer of modern Philippine architecture, he was recognized in some quarters as the foremost Filipino modernist architect of his t ...

. During its operational years as a movie theater, the Life Theater was reserved for

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

movies due to its large audience capacity and

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

system. The building is owned by Remy Villonco of

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon ( fil, Lungsod ng Malabon), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just nort ...

, son of Dr. Teofilo Villonco, whose family is involved in the theater industry. The auditorium was demolished from April–June 2017, and then, the rest of the building was demolished by 2018 for the construction of Foinix Center, a 33-storey commercial building. Its facade was left intact and will be incorporated into the design of the new high-rise building.

History

Erected in 1941, Life Theater was designed in

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style. The theater was meant to show only Tagalog films. ''Ang Maestra'', where

Rosa del Rosario Rose del Rosario Stagner, better known by her screen name Rosa del Rosario (December 15, 1917 – February 4, 2006), was a Filipino film actress of Filipino-American descent. Early life and education She was born to an American father (Frank ...

and

Rogelio dela Rosa Regidor Lim de la Rosa"Filipinos in History Vol. 3", page 75. (November 12, 1916 – November 26, 1986), professionally known as Rogelio de la Rosa, was one of the most popular Filipino matinee idols of the 20th century.Garcia, J., ''A Movie Qu ...

starred, was the first movie showed upon the theater's opening. The theater was destroyed following the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was rebuilt in 1946 with an upgraded seating capacity of 1,144. The Hollywood film, '' A Thousand and One Nights'' was the first movie showed when the theater reopened. The theater continued to feature several films, both in English and Tagalog until the mid-1950s when

Sampaguita Pictures Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippine film production company. It was named for the Philippine national flower, sampaguita. Though no longer functioning, the company's Sampaguita Compound remains in Quezon City. History Sampaguita Pictures was es ...

took over the theater. The Life Theater was owned by Romeo Villonco, who continued his father, Dr. Teofilo Villonco's enterprise. The Palace Theater located along Ronquillo Street in Quiapo was owned by the Villoncos. The Villoncos, together with the De Leon and Navoa families originally ran LVN Pictures. The name of the film studio is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

which represents the three families (De Leon, Villonco and Navoa).

Premieres A première, also spelled premiere, is the wikt:debut, debut (first public presentation) of a Play (theatre), play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywh ...

were held in this venue when movie stars were dressed by famous couturiers, sometimes dressed up the characters they were portrayed in the movie. The actors and actresses were transported to the theater by a new air-conditioned bus owned by Sampaguita Pictures causing heavy traffic build-up on nearby roads.

Current use

The theater shut down in the 1990s when moviegoers began shifting to malls for shopping and entertainment pleasures. It now houses booths selling cheap goods. As of June 2018, the building is condemned and has barricades on it for demolition despite a heritage building. Rumors are that a mall is about to be built in that location.

Architecture

The white facade of the theater contains both elements of

and

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

due to the building's streamlining and scaled round columns, each adorned with a conical finial. The theater was also adorned with aluminum buffles, consistent with its Art Deco design. Along with the Times Theater, the theater is found along Quezon Boulevard in Quiapo. It has since been converted to a shopping center.

References

{{coord missing, Philippines Theaters in Manila Former cinemas Buildings and structures in Quiapo, Manila Theatres completed in 1941 Works of National Artists of the Philippines Art Deco architecture in the Philippines