List of Art Deco theaters in Metro Manila
The construction of these early theaters in the Manila metropolitan area provided the venue for early forms of entertainment like bodabil, a local adaptation of vaudeville, with most eventually converting to movie theaters with the growth and popularity of Philippine cinema in the metropolis, while some were showing American films.
Several theaters built within the city of Manila were designed by prominent Philippine architects, including future National Artists Juan Nakpil and Pablo Antonio.
Art Deco features abound in the design of the Auditorium and include the gradual curves, the ribbed piers and geometric volumes and patterns.
The Manila Metropolitan Theater is located on Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita district adjacent to the Mehan Garden.
The theater is endowed with bronze sculptures depicting female performers designed by Francesco Riccardo Monti, a stained glass mural mounted above the main audience entrance, and relief woodcarvings of Philippine plants found in the interior lobby made by Isabelo Tampingco.
Located on Rizal Avenue in Santa Cruz, when the theater opened it had a 1,470 seating capacity with its lobby bearing a Belgian marble finish flooring and exclusively showing Paramount Pictures films in the Philippines.
The structure and cinema was originally owned by the Ang family, one of the first Filipino-Chinese clans in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City.
Situated in Escolta Street in Binondo, the Capitol Theater was designed by Juan Nakpil, and built in 1935.
Symmetrically installed, the two Filipina muses are explicitly portrayed in native garb or traje de mestizas, evoking contrast between their rural representation and urbanized location.
Further contrast can be found in the details of their skirts, where strong lines and soft curves are juxtaposed to depict the pleats of their terno.
The presence of these elements are in line with the establishment's purpose as a cinema, and consistent with the Art Deco style which heavily favors bold geometric shapes.
Additional Art Deco elements can be found in the strong geometric details of the top corners and the central iron grills which marries both straight and curved lines.
Its lobby was adorned with a mural called “Rising Philippines” created by Victorio C. Edades, Carlos V. Francisco, and Galo B. Ocampo.
It was ultimately the deterioration of the theatre business in Manila that led to the stoppage of Capitol Theater's operations as a cinema.
The construction of the Manila LRT Line 1 and the extensive delays prompted movie goers to prefer newly opened air –conditioned malls with newer cinemas.
The theater was demolished in the late 1970s to give way to the construction of a department store now present site of Philtrust Bank Carriedo Branch.
The Ideal Theater in 1933, in front Capitan Luis Gonzaga Bldg in 1953 was one of the first major works of Pablo Antonio along with the Nicanor B. Reyes Sr. Hall main buildings in 1939 of Far Eastern University and Manila Polo Club.
It was reconstructed again as a Streamline Moderne building with the largest air-conditioning installation among Manila theaters, by Pablo Antonio and reopened on June 1, 1937, and was exclusively showing Warner Bros. films.
Another theater designed by Pablo Antonio was the Scala Theatre, also on Avenida Rizal in Santa Cruz.
With its floors paced with tea rose marble and its curved wall lined with glass blocks, the theater's magnificence did not last: it was closed in the 1990s.
Another work of the late architect Juan Nakpil, the State Theater was on Rizal Avenue, Santa Cruz.
