Vul. Zelena, 88 – cinema (no longer in operation) ID: 1779

A cinema operated in the building at 88 Zelena Street under changing names and owners: "Bajka" (1932–1944) and "Zirka" (1944–1997). Today (2013), the premises house the "Picasso" nightclub.

Story

"Bajka", 1931–1944

The "Bajka" cinema opened in 1932 in a newly constructed building erected by Dominik Wuchowicz on the order of the Polish Confraternity of the Good Death (Pol. Polskie Stowarzyszenie Bractwa Dobrej Śmierci).

The cinema was in a difficult financial situation, which was caused, in part, by its location far from the city center. In 1939, the owners of "Bajka" were Józef Gampel and Tadeusz Gańczakowski. They invested 50,000 zł in new equipment and room renovations, but this did not improve the situation.

"Zirka", 1944–1997

In 1944, the "Zirka" cinema began operating in this building. The auditorium was designed with 308 seats. Following the end of the Second World War, the cinema was in rather poor condition: it was under-equipped with apparatus and lacked audience seating (in 1945, 350 seats were requisitioned for the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine). The cinema was practically non-functional until 1946. "Zirka" belonged to the third category of cinemas (there were three categories in total, classified on the basis of the cinema's location and the comfort level of the auditorium). Tickets cost between 2 and 4.5 rubles. By 1966, the cinema had 353 seats and employed 23 people. The cinema operated 360 days a year, running 6 screenings per day.

The "Zirka" cinema ceased its operations in 1997.

People

Józef Gampel –– owner of "Bajka" (alongside Tadeusz Gańczakowski).
Tadeusz Gańczakowski –– owner of "Bajka" (alongside Józef Gampel).
Dominik Wuchowicz –– erected the premises for the "Bajka" cinema.

Sources