Menteng Cinema, Movie theater in Menteng district, Jakarta, Indonesia
Menteng Cinema is a movie theater in the Menteng district of Jakarta featuring a distinctive street-facing facade. The structure contains multiple screening spaces arranged with the typical layout of mid-century cinema design.
Designed by Dutch architect J.M. Groenewegen in 1949, Menteng Cinema was his first cinema project, influenced by Willem Dudok's Hilversum Town Hall. It was demolished in 1988, and the Menteng Huis shopping complex now stands on the site.
The cinema's name was shared with another "Menteng" cinema on Jalan Cokroaminoto, built in 1947, so 1950s audiences had to distinguish between the two. Inside, a large Balinese mural decorated the main hall, and a bar, café-restaurant with terrace and powder room made it a social venue as much as a screening room.
The cinema no longer exists: it was demolished in 1988, and the Menteng Huis shopping complex now stands on its site. Visitors can reach the area on foot or by taxi from central Jakarta, but there is no cinema building to see.
Menteng Cinema was demolished in 1988, and the Menteng Huis shopping complex now stands on its site. Its architect, J.M. Groenewegen, designed it after moving to Jakarta following his internment in a Japanese camp, and he stayed in Indonesia after independence unlike many colleagues.
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