Bollywood Society » Did the Firestone building use to be a movie theatre?

Did the Firestone building use to be a movie theatre?

by Ratan Srivastava
Firestone

Art Deco architecture may be seen in the Firestone Tyre Factory upon that Great West Road in Brentford, London Borough of Hounslow. It was created for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company by Wallis, Gilbert as well as Partners. It was the second plant to operate on the Great West Road, following Hudson-Essex Motors of Great Britain Limited, which opened in 1927. It was built on a 26-acre plot and inaugurated in October 1928.

The building was completed over the August 1980 bank holiday weekend after it had been purchased by Trafalgar House, purportedly in preparation of it becoming listed.

The Regal Film was erected during Mumbai’s 1930s cinema boom, which has seen the opening of Plaza Central, New Empire, Broadway, Eros, as well as Metro. Regal was built by Charles Stevens, the son of the prominent 19th-century architect F. W. Stevens, and opened in 1933. Karl Schara, a Czech artist, created the interiors, which feature a lot of mirrors.

Sunrays in pastel orange, as well as jade green, adorned the main auditorium. Its furnishings were created to provide the feeling of spaciousness, airiness, as well as coolness, in contrast to the modern simplicity of both the exteriors. The Regal was constructed entirely of reinforced concrete cement (RCC), was fully air-conditioned, and provided guests with an underground parking lot.

At the time, the elevator from the parking lot was a big advancement. The Filmfare Awards were held for the third time at the cinema. It is now a multi-use structure with a cinema and stores on the ground floor.

The Regal Cinema was the main venue for the 17th Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), which began on Friday, October 29, 2015. The Regal Cinema was also the principal venue for the 18th Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), which took place in 2016.

Also Read: Why were comedy movies popular in the 1930s?

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