Historic Apollo Cinema

Why is it significant?

Pause before the breathtaking Art Nouveau facade of the Apollo Cinema, one of the oldest, grandest, and most architecturally significant purpose-built movie theaters in the world.

Key Facts

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Pause before the breathtaking Art Nouveau facade of the Apollo Cinema, one of the oldest, grandest, and most architecturally significant purpose-built movie theaters in the world. Inaugurated in 1909 and redesigned in its present monumental form in 1914 by prominent architect Leopold Bielfeld, this cinematic temple opened during the glorious dawn of the silent film era. Its curvilinear stone pediment, expansive arched windows, and flowing sculptural plasterwork make it a peerless masterpiece of Caucasian Art Nouveau architecture.

Examine the elaborate symbolic stucco reliefs decorating the upper facade, where classical lyres, theatrical masks, oak leaf wreaths, and dynamic winged figures celebrate the performing arts. Above the monumental entrance portal, notice the elegant curved lettering spelling out the name Apollo in flowing Art Nouveau typography. Inside, the original auditorium featured a sweeping horseshoe balcony, gilded plaster ceiling rosettes, and state-of-the-art projection equipment imported directly from the French Pathé brothers' studios in Paris. The cinema's luxurious interior was adorned with crystal chandeliers and velvet draperies that dazzled visiting foreign dignitaries.

In the 1910s, attending a silent film screening at the Apollo was the supreme social event in Tiflis. Carriages belonging to Georgian nobility, foreign consuls, and wealthy merchant families lined the avenue, while elegant audiences were serenaded by live salon orchestras accompanying the flickering screen. During the Soviet era, the building was renamed the October Cinema and continued to operate as a premier cultural venue, inspiring generations of Georgian film directors including Otar Iosseliani and Tengiz Abuladze.

The monumental presence of the Apollo Cinema projects an undeniable aura of golden-age Hollywood and Parisian glamour transplanted to the South Caucasus. Its carefully preserved exterior detailing evokes nostalgia for the pioneering days when moving pictures first captivated human imagination. The Apollo remains a cherished cultural beacon and architectural icon of modern Tbilisi.

Walk north along Aghmashenebeli Avenue to enter the neoclassical grandeur of Marjanishvili Square.