Alhambra Cinema | |
---|---|
| |
Former names | Yafor |
General information | |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Location | Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa |
Town or city | Tel Aviv |
Country | Israel |
Named for | Alhambra in Spain |
Opened | 1937 |
Owner | Scientology International Reserves Trust [1] |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Elias Al-Mor |
The Alhambra Cinema is a 1937 Art Deco style building on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel, designed by Lebanese architect Elias Al-Mor, and original built as a cinema. It was named after the Alhambra palace in Spain.
Throughout its history it has been active as an Arab cultural institution (in Mandatory Palestine), again as a cinema after the establishment of Israel, and as a theatre after 1963. In 2010 it was purchased and renovated by the Church of Scientology, and in 2012 was opened as the Ideal Center of Scientology for the Middle East. [2]
The building was opened in May 1937 and was one of the biggest and luxurious cinemas in Palestine.[ citation needed] It became a cultural centre and hosted famous Arab artists such as Umm Kulthum, Farid al-Atrash and Leila Mourad. [3] Local residents, both local Arabs and Jews originating from Arab countries, came to the shows together with their families. [3]
The cinema was owned and managed by Palestinian Arabs, among them Isa al-Safri, Muhammad Abduh Hilmi, Muhammad Musa al-Husayni, Muhammad Younis al-Husayni, Muhammad Ramadan Hammu, Hasan Arafeh, Abdul-Rahman Alhaj Ibrahim, and Mughnnam Mughnnam. [4] Photos from 1937, during the Arab revolt in Palestine, show light bulbs fitted as a permanent fixture at the top of the building's turret.
After the 1948 war it became Israeli property and reopened under the name "Yafor". [2] In 1963 it was taken over by the impresario Giora Godik who turned it into an independent theatre, [2] again under the name "Alhambra". In the late 1970s the building was largely abandoned.[ citation needed] Until 2007 a bank used the main entrance, which faces the boulevard, as a branch. [2]
Starting in 2010 the building, affected by decades of transformations, underwent restoration and refurbishment, and in 2012 it was inaugurated as an Israeli and regional centre for Scientology. [2] [1]
Alhambra Cinema | |
---|---|
| |
Former names | Yafor |
General information | |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Location | Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa |
Town or city | Tel Aviv |
Country | Israel |
Named for | Alhambra in Spain |
Opened | 1937 |
Owner | Scientology International Reserves Trust [1] |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Elias Al-Mor |
The Alhambra Cinema is a 1937 Art Deco style building on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel, designed by Lebanese architect Elias Al-Mor, and original built as a cinema. It was named after the Alhambra palace in Spain.
Throughout its history it has been active as an Arab cultural institution (in Mandatory Palestine), again as a cinema after the establishment of Israel, and as a theatre after 1963. In 2010 it was purchased and renovated by the Church of Scientology, and in 2012 was opened as the Ideal Center of Scientology for the Middle East. [2]
The building was opened in May 1937 and was one of the biggest and luxurious cinemas in Palestine.[ citation needed] It became a cultural centre and hosted famous Arab artists such as Umm Kulthum, Farid al-Atrash and Leila Mourad. [3] Local residents, both local Arabs and Jews originating from Arab countries, came to the shows together with their families. [3]
The cinema was owned and managed by Palestinian Arabs, among them Isa al-Safri, Muhammad Abduh Hilmi, Muhammad Musa al-Husayni, Muhammad Younis al-Husayni, Muhammad Ramadan Hammu, Hasan Arafeh, Abdul-Rahman Alhaj Ibrahim, and Mughnnam Mughnnam. [4] Photos from 1937, during the Arab revolt in Palestine, show light bulbs fitted as a permanent fixture at the top of the building's turret.
After the 1948 war it became Israeli property and reopened under the name "Yafor". [2] In 1963 it was taken over by the impresario Giora Godik who turned it into an independent theatre, [2] again under the name "Alhambra". In the late 1970s the building was largely abandoned.[ citation needed] Until 2007 a bank used the main entrance, which faces the boulevard, as a branch. [2]
Starting in 2010 the building, affected by decades of transformations, underwent restoration and refurbishment, and in 2012 it was inaugurated as an Israeli and regional centre for Scientology. [2] [1]