Royal Victoria Cinema

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: 1931 · Authors: José Blasco Robles

The Royal Victoria, inaugurated on 23 February 1931, was another of the cinemas in the El Toscal neighbourhood. Located at the corner of La Rosa and Santa Rosalía streets, this luxurious film exhibition venue was designed by the architect José Blasco for the businessman Luis Zamorano.

The façade had undeniable prominence with great visual impact. It featured a curious and exuberant arcade with semicircular columns on plinths that invited pedestrians to stop and look at its billboard. Its interior was configured by a rectangular plan accessed first through a side lobby and from there to the stalls or the mezzanine floor, where the projection booth was located. On the opposite side to the lobby there was an uncovered courtyard with access to the street, where a canteen decorated with marbles of different colours and the restrooms were distributed.                                                                                                 

This cinema, with a capacity for 740 spectators, was one of the best in the city at the time. Decorated with elegant and simple lines, the space was equipped with domes in the ceiling that could be opened in summer, leaving the hall open. Other novelties included a cloakroom service and a fire safety system previously unknown in this area.

This venue was not only used to screen films but also sporadically hosted different cultural and social events, from musical performances to political meetings during the Second Republic.

The Royal Victoria, one of the best cinemas Santa Cruz had, ceased film projection in 1975 and three years later, in 1978, it was demolished to build a new building for housing and commercial premises.

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