Rama cinema, Movie theater in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Rama Cinema is a building featuring Art Deco elements situated at the corner of Bialik Street and Jabotinsky Street with seating for about 1000 people. An adjacent cafe with the same name created a complete entertainment complex for the community before it closed in 1982.
Rama Cinema, Ramat Gan's second movie theater, opened on 28 May 1938 at the corner of Bialik and Jabotinsky streets. The ceremony was attended by British district governor Robert Crosbie, and the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, later the Israel Philharmonic, performed. Founders and managers were Yosef Reis and his son Nahum Reis, joined by partner Yitzhak Hirsch Azoulay-Shein of the "Kadima" transport company. The 1,178 sq m building held 1,000 seats; after a German architect left the country, engineer Israel Michaeli took over the design in International Style with Art Deco influences.
The cinema served as a gathering place for the community and screened Egyptian films in its early years, attracting audiences from neighboring Arab villages. These screenings reflected the region's diverse cultural connections and made the venue a window into Middle Eastern artistic expression.
The preserved cinema front stands at the corner of Bialik and Jabotinsky streets, now the base of the 23-storey Rama Tower completed in 2017. It is seen from the street; the original hall of 1,178 sq m and 1,000 seats no longer exists. The site is in central Ramat Gan, within walking distance of the city's main streets.
The building was bought in 2010 for 70 million shekels by Migdalim, owned by the Ben-David and Horowitz funds, and the tower that replaced it opened in 2017. Because the cinema was listed for preservation, only its front facade survived. The 23-storey project was marketed as Rama Tower.
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