Tuschinski Theatre

A cinema that looks like a palace

The Tuschinski Theatre is a working cinema on Reguliersbreestraat, and people often call it the most beautiful in the world. It opened in 1921 and still shows films today. You do not need a ticket to enjoy the outside. The facade alone is worth the walk.

Stand across the street and look up. You will see two slim towers, glazed tiles, ornate metalwork and rows of lamps. The style mixes Art Deco with Amsterdam School and a few touches that feel almost Eastern. Nothing is plain. It was built to make a night at the pictures feel like an occasion, and it still does.

The man who built it

The theatre is named after Abraham Tuschinski, a Polish-born Jewish immigrant who made his way to Amsterdam and became a cinema owner. He wanted something grander than anything the city had seen. The architect was Hijman Louis de Jong. Tuschinski was deported during the Second World War and murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. His name stayed on the building.

There is an older story right next door. The Nöggerath Theater opened at Reguliersbreestraat 34 on 7 September 1907 as the Bioscope-Theater. It was founded by Anton Nöggerath sr., head of a film production company, and it had 700 seats. Until Tuschinski opened in 1921, it was the biggest cinema in Amsterdam. Architect Peter Cornelius Samwel designed it, and it was built in just ten weeks.

The Tuschinski company took it over in 1949. The cinema closed in February 1983, was rebuilt, and became part of the Tuschinski complex. After another rebuild between 1999 and 2001 it became a foyer and three more screens. Its facade had been altered in the late 1940s, and in 2001 it was restored to the original look. Of the old interior, nothing survives.

What to look for

Start outside. Let your eye run up the towers, then drop down to the entrance and the lights around it. Come back after dark if you can, when the front glows and the street feels a little like a film set.

If the cinema is open, you can usually step into the lobby and look around. Be quick and polite, as people are queuing for films. Look at the patterned carpets, the stained glass, the heavy lamps and the painted details on the walls and ceilings. The decoration is thick and warm, and every corner has something to see.

The best way to see the main hall is to buy a ticket for a film. Then you sit under the ceiling and the lamps instead of just glancing at them from the door.