Grand-Théâtre de Beyrouth, an endangered cultural landmark

• Date: Mar 22 2014 Time: 01:49
• Description:
  Built by renowned architect Youssef Aftimos in the late 1920s, owned by Trad family, the Grand-Théâtre is a symbol of the evolution of the Centre-Ville through the XXth century. At first, when Central District was still the heart of Beirut's intelligentsia (from the 1920s until 1960), this building hosted a beautiful theatre, presenting international-class artists to the local scene, like Oum Kalthoum, Abdelwahab or Comédie-Française. The building included as well apartments, stores and a small hotel. In 1960, when theaters, cinemas and coffee shops started blossoming around Hamra street, pulling the bustling cultural scene out of Centre-Ville, the theater became a popular cinema. When the war broke out and destroyed its surroundings, it became a porno cinema for the fighters of the Green Line. Today, Solidere wants to turn this building into a Boutique hotel. It already destroyed a part of the Grand-Théâtre complex accross the street. It must remain a theater. Omar Naim made a movie on the subject in 1998.