SaensPeña

The rush of magazine shops, department stores, craft stalls, banks, pharmacies, and the bustle of passersby bears no resemblance at all to the vocation dormant in its past. It may be hard for younger people to believe, but Praça Saens Peña, in the heart of Tijuca, was once a hub of street-corner movie theaters.

One of them was the Cinema Carioca. Opened in March 1941, it exemplified the luxury of the great art déco buildings of that era. Its building was declared a heritage site in 1988 and remains a living monument of the area, although today it is used as a Universal Church venue. Further along, the Galeria Eskie, home to the movie theater of the same name, was famous for its staircase. Its steps served as a runway for fashion shows, but were also the scene of the shot fired at Carlos Marighella by a Dops agent in 1964. That movie theater ceased operations in 1990 and today is a department store.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph of a theater called "Metro-Tijuca." At the top, there is a large sign featuring the word "METRO" prominently displayed. Below it, there is another sign with the name of the film "Arvores da Vida." The theater's façade features a vertical structure with decorative columns. In front of the theater, several people are walking along the sidewalk.

Opened in 1941, Cinema Metro Tijuca was the most elegant one on the square and, for a long time, the only one with air conditioning. There, MGM held operetta screenings on Thursday afternoons and, on Sundays, presented the Tom and Jerry Festival in the morning. It stopped operating as a cinema in 1977, and the site is now home to a store.

Image description: This is an old black-and-white photograph of a cinema called "Cinema América." The image shows a building with distinctive architecture, possibly in a neoclassical style, with sloped roofs and ornamental details. To the left, there is a row of smaller buildings, while to the right there are trees and a light post. In the center, the cinema's main building has a central entrance with arches and a raised structure on top. People walk along the street in front of the cinema, and tram tracks are visible on the ground.

Cinema América was the oldest one on the square. Its building was constructed in 1915, and the screening room began operating in 1918. In 1997, it shut down its big screen. Today, it houses a pharmacy branch. Cine Teatro Olinda, in turn, was once one of the largest in Latin America, with a capacity for 3,500 seats. Its building was demolished in 1972 to make way for a shopping center. Around the square, there were also the so-called “poeiras” (“dust holes”): small screening rooms with wooden chairs and no air conditioning.