Cinema Opera and Ezzeddine Building, Art Deco entertainment venue in Martyrs Square, Beirut, Lebanon.
Cinema Opera and Ezzeddine Building is an entertainment venue on Martyrs Square that features Egyptian-inspired ornaments, round pilasters with limestone capitals, and horizontal dentils across its facade. Inside, it originally held a two-level cinema design with separate screening areas, though the structure now serves as a modern commercial center.
The building was designed in 1932 by Lebanese architect Bahjat Abdelnour for businessman Abboud Abdel Razzak and opened ceremonially in 1944. After major restoration in 2001, it survived the Lebanese civil war and remained one of the few preserved structures from that early period.
The cinema served as a gathering place for residents and reflects the role movie theaters played in Beirut during the 20th century as entertainment hubs. Its Egyptian-inspired architectural details show the cosmopolitan taste that shaped the city at that time.
The site is easy to reach in central Beirut and sits in an active commercial district, so it is best visited during daytime hours. While you can see the building from outside, visitors can explore the interior only during business hours of the current commercial use.
The name Ezzeddine comes from the adjacent building, which together with this cinema forms the only two surviving pre-war structures on Martyrs Square. This rare surviving pair makes them important visual witnesses to older layers of Beirut hidden beneath newer construction.
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