Overview

The Colosseum Theatre was opened by General Smuts in October 1933 and became the flagship of African Consolidated Theatres. It occupied an entire city block with a west and east wing containing offices. The theatre had a distinct Egyptian motif on the façade. Inside the auditorium, designed by interior designer William Timlin in a “castleated” style with turrets and fairy dragons, the stage opening had a large rouged festoon curtain made from crushed velvet material adorning the proscenium arch in later years.

The theatre could accommodate fully-fledged stage shows as well as movie presentations. A distinct feature was the ceiling of the large auditorium which contained hundreds of tiny concealed lights giving the effect of looking up at a night sky with stars twinkling.

Closed in 1985, it was demolished and an office block named Colosseum was built on the site.

Information in part sourced from Cinema Treasures .