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The Colosseum Theatre in Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, was opened by General Smuts on 4th 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 facade. Inside the auditorium, designed by interior designer William Timlin in a ‘castellated’ 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.

It could accommodate full-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 - Notes by John Ferreira.

Contributed by Greg Lynch - dimensional1@bigpond.com