WIP · World in Pocket

Orpheum Theatre

Il-Gżira, Italy

Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre is a building situated in Gżira, Malta. It was designed in 1932 by the Maltese architect Harold J. Borg (1908–1981), then still in his early twenties, to the design of Art Nouveau with Spanish features. The theatre was commissioned by Felix Gerada, a developer who lived between M

alta and Detroit (hence the initials FG on the façade) on land he purchased from the Marquis Desain and was built to serve as a movie theatre. The carved relief is said to be the work of sculptor Alfredo Azzopardi, who had already worked on the Balluta buildings as well as on the Msida Parish church. The Orpheum is a Grade 1 scheduled building since 2001 thanks to the presence of a painting of Orpheus on the ceiling, by Raphael Bonnici Calì (1907–2002). The Orpheum is a near-complete survivor of the large, single-screen cinemas on Malta. Like many of the island’s cinemas, it was flat-floored in the stalls and had a single balcony.

Listen to the audio guide for Orpheum Theatre Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off

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