The Entertainment Theatre, also commonly known as the Powisle Circus or Bulgarian Circus, was a unique performance venue located in Warsaw’s Central Park of Culture, near Leon Kruczkowski Street. The performance hall, the construction of which was completed in 1969, operated for just one year before it was closed down due to serious safety issues. It was finally demolished in 2002, with luxury flat blocks built in its place.
Construction of the Entertainment Theatre lasted from 1965 to 1969, with its official opening in June 1970. Despite the high hopes for this modern facility, it turned out that the hall did not meet basic fire safety standards. Flammable materials were used, there were no emergency exits and no air-conditioning system. It is worth noting that a twin building in Sofia, designed by the same architects, burned down in just 18 minutes in 1983, which only confirmed the seriousness of the problem.
Construction of the building, 1967. Source: Own collection – Balbina/photopolska.eu
Despite its closure, the building was used as a warehouse by the United Entertainment Companies and later came into the hands of the Ministry of Culture. In 1995, the perpetual lease rights to the building and adjacent land were sold to Logoland, which then resold them to Park Place Investment. In 2002 the building was demolished and four years later the luxury ‘Patria Apartments’ were built in its place.
Although the Entertainment Theatre was in operation for a short time, it managed to organise a number of significant cultural events. It was inaugurated with a performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by the Maurice Béjart 20th Century Ballet. The hall also hosted the preliminaries for the International Chopin Competition, during which almost all the contestants performed. Due to its larger capacity than the National Philharmonic, it was here that most of the concerts took place. The Rozrywki Theatre was also the venue for the world premieres of works such as Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony of the Millennium” and performances by the bands Klan, SBB, and Czesław Niemen. The musical “Na szkle malowane” was also shown and circus shows were organised.
The Entertainment Theatre was designed by Bulgarian architect Eroslav Stankov, in collaboration with his brothers. The building was distinguished by its steel structure, aluminium dome and façade of aluminium and glass panels. It was a multi-purpose facility that could serve as a circus, a widescreen cinema, a sports hall and even an ice rink or swimming pool. The auditorium seated between 2,100 and 3,500 people, making the hall one of the largest facilities of its kind in Warsaw. The interior was equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, and the acoustics of the hall were praised by Jerzy Waldorff himself. Unfortunately, despite all these assets, the building did not stand the test of time.
The Entertainment Theatre has left its mark on popular culture, not least through a scene in Stanislaw Bareja’s film Teddy Bear, shot inside the building. Today, however, the place is just a memory in the history of Warsaw’s architecture and culture, replaced by modern apartment buildings.
The circus in Powiśle in the 1990s and today. Photo: mapa.um.warszawa.pl
Source: polska-org.pl, fotopolska.eu
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