All things old China - books, anecdotes, stories, podcasts, factoids & ramblings from the author Paul French

The Teatro Apollo, Macao

Posted: May 9th, 2019 | No Comments »

A quick visit to the Teatro Apollo on Macao’s Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro, just off the Leal Senado. Completed in 1935 and opened with the English language motion picture “The Merry Widow”. The cinema could seat over a thousand paying customers and the complex always included some ground level retail and adjacent apartments, which must have been a great address. In the 1940s and 50s the cinema also hosted some stage shows and began to show more Cantonese films.

Sadly there’s nothing much to see now except the exterior. The once grand lobby is a clothes shop with false lowered ceilings – who knows what’s behind the paint and plaster. The old auditorium is now used as a warehouse and is inaccessible.



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