Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Coliseum Theatre .... Pawagam Coliseum



The Coliseum Theatre is a movie theater in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of the oldest movie theaters in the country, it was built in 1921 by the Chua family led by Chua Cheng Bok. The Art Deco-style building is capable of seating 900 people and also features a balcony.




The famed Coliseum Café and Hotel are located behind the theatre, just down the road. The oldest and continuously running cinema hall in the country (save for a break during the Japanese occupation during World War II), most of the movies premiering in the building are Indian movies. After Chua Cheng Bok's demise in 1940, his estate continued to administer the Coliseum until its acquisition in 1973 by a company owned by his nephew Dr Chua Boon Teck and his wife Mdm Khor Joo Saik.






































In 2006, the Malaysian government proposed to close the theater and turn it into a cultural heritage center, but relented when there was a public outcry to the scheme.The government later decided not to close the cinema. Instead, they planned to build a parking lot nearby.In that year, Dr Chua Seong Siew, elder son of the late owners Dr Chua Boon Teck and Mdm Khor Joo Saik, had successfully appealed for the cinema theater to remain open, and so it continues to operate to this day.







No comments: