Tehran’s Radio City Cinema Listed as Protected National Site

May 20, 2018

 The city of Tehran has registered the iconic Radio City cinema on its list of protected national sites. It is, however, unclear if the authorities have any plan to repair or renovate the building.

In its heyday, the landmark movie theater showed the best and the latest in domestic and foreign films. But in the past few decades, the 60-year old building has fallen into disrepair due to neglect.

Radio City was designed by a pioneer of modern architecture in Iran, Heydar Ghiai-Chamlou (1922-1985) in 1958. Mr. Ghiai-Chamlou also designed the Senate House (1955), Moulin Rouge Cinema (1956), Royal Tehran Hilton Hotel (1962) and numerous other buildings in Tehran and other cities around the country.

Located at the intersection of Pahlavi Avenue (Valiye Asr) and Gilan Street, Radio City cinema dominated the surrounding cityscape. The exterior of the building was covered with neon lights that made it glow at night. A passerby could see the towering marble columns, the spiral stairway and the mass of people in the spacious interior of the building through its huge glass doors.

The cinema had 1,400 seats, each upholstered in luxurious red velvet. Its massive 14.5-meter screen provided a unique movie experience. Radio City was one of the main venues for the prestigious annual Tehran International Film Festival before the Islamic Revolution.

Radio City has suffered many misfortunes through the years. It was bombed by the armed revolutionary forces in June 1973 and set on fire in October 1978 by the Islamists. During the 1979 unrest, more than 40 people armed with clubs broke the exterior neon lights and glass doors and windows and severely damaged the building.

Shortly after the Islamic Revolution, the authorities shut Radio City completely. The Foundation for the Protection of Works and the Publishing of the Values of the Holy Defense eventually appropriated the building. It housed a pharmacy for a short time in the early 1980s before being completely abandoned.

Radio City, Atlantic, Shahr-e Farang, Shahr-e Qeseh and Golden City were among the first cultural sites targeted under the Islamic Republic.