Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		Alhambra Theatre - Second Cape Town, Western Cape Percy ROGERS COOKE: Architect William Mitcheson TIMLIN: Architect interior

Date: 1929-1930 Type: Theatre Status: Demolished c1972 Street: Riebeek St (cnr Lower Burg St)

(SAB May 1928:47; exhib cat SA Acad 1928: Cooke & Timlin; SAB Jan 1930:35 ill; SAB Aug 1932: v ill; AB&E Jul 1928:7) Cinema and Theatre Originally designed by P ROGERS COOKE as the Cinema de Luxe. The Alhambra was Cape Town's premier place of entertainment for more than forty years. Like the Playhouse in Durban and the later Colosseum in Johannesburg, it was an "atmospheric" theatre. The auditorium was designed to resemble the courtyard of a Spanish castle, complete with little balconies and turrets, and the ceiling had scores of small twinkling lights to create the illusion of being outdoors. The decor included lots of marble, gleaming brass balustrades, and plush seats. The Alhambra was the venue for stars such as Noel Coward, Vera Lynn, Marlene Dietrich and Liberace, and for shows such as My Fair Lady, the Minstrel Scandals, and Fiddler on the Roof (the final production). Shell House (now Atterbury House) replaced the theatre. (Arthur Radburn May, 2025) All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.