Titania-Palast in Berlin / Germany

 

The Titania-Palast opened on 28th January 1928 for vaudeville shows and movies. The opening film was Der Sprung ins Glück (France/Germany/Italy 1928) and a revue on the stage Wien und die Wienerin. 

The cinema with 1.924 seats was built in the style of the New Objectivity by the architects Ernst Schöffler, Carlo Schloenbach and Carl Jacobi and based on American models, the cubic, almost bulky building on the 2700 m² property caused a sensation with its almost completely unadorned facade at the time of construction, which also from that time was positively received by the public and the press. 

At night, the building transforms and reveals which aspect the architects want to focus on: the light architecture. The electric light, symbol of the pulsating city of Berlin, is used in different ways. 27 light strips made of opal glass turn the corner tower into a light tower at night, making the cinema visible from afar. The cinema name TITANIA PALAST is displayed in neon tubes, the announcements for the films above the entrance are also illuminated.

The cinema survived World War II without much damage. In June 1951, the first Berlin International Film Festival - Berlinale - took place at Titania Palast. In 1953, the house was equipped with CinemaScope.

The last film was shown in December 1965 and the last operetta was played a month later. 

In 1966, the Titania Palast narrowly escaped demolition. The Berlin energy supplier Bewag prevented this by leasing part of the building. The great hall was leased to retail outlets. Other parts of the building were used as a rehearsal stage from 1972 to 1994.

In 1995, a multiplex-cinema with 5 screens  opened, using only a small part of the original building. 

Today's Titania only has the name and location in common with the historic cinema. Externally, however, many architectural features of the original building have been preserved. The house has today seven projection halls with a total of around 1100 seats and is a listed building

The postcard shows the cinema advertising the film Der Hauptmann von Peshawar / King of the Khyber Rifles (USA, 1953) with Tyrone Power. The film was one of the first shot in Technicolor CinemaScope. It came on 30th April 1954 to West German cinemas.