Tivoli Kino

Located in the Pankow district in east Berlin. In 1895 the brothers Skladanowsky showed for the first time moving pictures on a screen with their invention of the Bioskop in the ballroom of the restaurant Feldschloesschen in Berlin Pankow. This demonstration of the Bioskop was witnessed by the directors of the Wintergarten music hall (#1) at Berlin Friedrichstrasse (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures) who contacted the Skladanowsky brothers for a sum of 2500 Goldmar to present their Bioskop invention of moving pictures as the final act of a variety performance commencing on 1st November 1895. The show was advertised as “the most interesting invention of the modern age”. The movies “Boxing Kangeroo”, Wrestler" and “Serpentin Dance” were shot at the rear of the restaurant Feldschloesschen and soon it was converted into the worlds' first permanent cinema named Pankower Lichtspiele. From that time to 1918 there is not much information on the building, maybe lost in World War I. In 1918 the cinema was operated by David Heimann. In 1920 the Pankower Lichtspiele had a capacity of 420-seats and was operated by Willi Ihbe In 1924 it was demolished.

A new larger cinema with 820-seats was built on the site, designed by architects Walter Erdmann & Reinhold Leest. The new Pankower Lichtspiele was opened in 1925 and was operated by Ignaz Werner & Mull. In 1928 it was re-named Tivoli Kino and was operated by Tivoli GmbH. In 1931 a sound system by Tobis/Klangfilm was installed. In 1932 the Tivoli Kino was operated by Karl Werner and in 1937 it was taken over by Ernst Metzger & Emil Backhaus The Tivoli Kino was closed in 1941 due to conditions during World War II. It reopened in 1949.

In 1960 it was remodeled and the number of seats were reduced to 343 and it was operated by VEB(Volkseigener Betrieb) Berliner Filmtheater. From 1979 it was operated by the Bezirksfilmdirektion Berlin. In 1991 the Tivoli Kino was operated by Franz Stadler. He also operated the Graffiti Kino and Filmkunst 66 Kino in the west of the city. The Tivoli Kino was closed in 1994 and was demolished to build a supermarket on the site.

The site of oldest permanent cinema in the world survived two world wars, Communism and Capitolism only to be demolished. It’s a sad story. Now some wallpaintings and a mosaic floor remembers the long tradition of the cinema and the brothers Skladanowsky and their invention, the Bioskop.

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