Broadway Theater

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The Broadway Theater (originally Cinema-Theater Broadway) is one of the emblematic theaters of Corrientes Avenue, in Buenos Aires. It is a representative building of the Buenos Aires art deco current, and was restored in 1999 to house the Broadway Hotel Buenos Aires on its upper floors.

It was inaugurated on October 11, 1930 by the company A. Alvarez & Cía, during a period of the Argentine cinema boom, in which the old theaters had to adapt to the changes to perform both theater plays and film screenings. The film that premiered that day was The Submarine Tragedy, from the 20th label. Century Fox.

Broadway was born as a cinema-theater, but at present it is only theater, and it specializes in magazine works. Until 1939, under the direction of Álvarez, Broadway was the premiere hall of the main American labels, among them the MGM (Metro Goldwin Mayer), 20th. Century Fox, Paramount and Columbia and until 1935 of films of national production.

The ceiling of the original single room was of paraboloid shape, helping to provide excellent acoustics, without echoes or reverberations, and helping to better aerate the space. It had a 12-meter cantilever over the stalls, innovative central air conditioning, and capacity for 2265 people.

On October 19, 1931, Carlos Gardel sang in this theater.1 In the 1942 season, the room was dedicated exclusively to Argentine films. The sound system was modernized in 1954, while the new Cinemascope system was inaugurated with the film The Holy Mantle. Like many cinemas, the single room was subdivided into two. The eight upper floors were originally intended for rental housing and a small confectionery, and Vierendel beams were used with 18 meters of light to support the ceiling of the theatrical space, which has no columns.

In 1999, the show business entrepreneur Alejandro Romay took over the Broadway Theater, performing a general modernization work. The upper floors were transformed into a hotel venture called "Broadway Hotel & Suites".