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| Bolivar's
History |
For
the construction of the Bolivar Theater, the Mantilla brothers
contracted the Philadelphian (USA) architectural firm of Hoffman
& Henon. Hoffman and Henon were world renowned firm for
their US theater constructions. The Bolivar theater was the
only theater that they designed outside of the US, giving it
special architectural interest. The Bolivar Theater opened its
doors on April 15, 1933 with a capacity for 2,400 seats. In
just a few years, the theater would become known as the premier
venue for major artistic events along the Pacific coast of South
America
The Theater’s artistic style harmonized with Quito’s
Historical Center. It’s neoclassic shapes, mixed with
Moorish influences, fascinated the Quito audiences and would
later become the reference point in the city for social and
cultural events and architecture. It was the Bolivar’s
magical composition that attracted high quality events of all
genres: operas, ballet, symphony concerts, theater pieces, zarzuelas,
variety shows and more. Events from Russia, the US, Asia and
Europe were presented.
With the rapid rise of mass media communication, especially
in the1980’s, the Bolivar Theater lost its large audiences.
From 1988 to 1997 the theater was leased out to a commercial
film distributor. |
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