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Skandia-Teatern - Sweden’s most beautiful cinema
Located in the Warodell House at Drottninggatan 82 in Stockholm, Skandia-Teatern was inaugurated on 19 September 1923 and was described as one of Europe’s most beautiful cinema venues. Designed by Gunnar Asplund, it is today considered one of the great masterpieces of Swedish twenties classicism. After several owners and renovations, Skandia-Teatern was reopened in 2001 in its original renovated condition.
In this newsletter, we’ll take a tour of the classic theatre.
Enjoy!
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A 1000-seat cinema in the backyard
The Warodell House was built in 1851. Filmindustri AB Skandia acquired it to construct a modern cinema with over 1,000 seats. The building was not originally intended to accommodate such a large theatre. The assignment went to the architect Ragnar Hjort, who solved the problem by placing the salon in the backyard. At the premiere in 1923, the auditorium had room for 852 people, of whom 669 were in the stalls.
A few months later, Filmindustri AB Skandia and AB Svenska Biografteatern merged into the new company, AB Svensk Filmindustri (SF).
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After illegal construction and strikes, Asplund takes over
Everything was actually an unlawful building, as permission for the rebuilding was not given until February 1920! During that year, the salon extension was completed in the backyard. Unfortunately, the construction market was troubled, with several conflicts and strikes, so work on the cinema did not resume until 1922.
During the construction shutdown, Ragnar Hjort was appointed head of the cultural history bureau at the National Board of Public Buildings (The National Property Board, SFV). So, when the cinema construction resumed, the task went to the promising young architect Gunnar Asplund. Hjort’s sketches are reminiscent of today’s Skandia, but Asplund made transformative changes to the room. He also called many of his then-young and budding “artist friends” to decorate the cinema in the way Asplund considered part of the “ideology” of cinema visits. |
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An atmospheric cinema steeped in classicism
The salon was designed according to the latest fashion from the United States. The concept of “Atmospheric Theatres” gives the audience the feeling of sitting outdoors in an amphitheater. The vaulted dark blue ceiling was reminiscent of a firmament in the evening. The barriers and ornamentation of the balconies were created by Alf Munthe, who had them executed on a larger scale to optically reduce the dimensions of the volume. It took five months for fifty embroiderers from Thyra Grafström’s textile studio to complete the embroidery. The new impression was unique for community halls and cinemas in particular!
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Built for silent movies
When Skandia-Teatern was built, it was a silent cinema. But in 1926, it was equipped with a Wurlitzer cinema organ that could mimic sound effects, suitable for the film’s plot.
The Wurlitzer organ could be slowly raised from the floor with its organist dressed in a white tuxedo. It was also used as a concert organ during the silent film era. Today, the organ has been renovated and can be fully played. It is in reactor hall R1 at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where several concerts are given per year.
At Skandia-Teatern, a gilded horn known as “Mrs. Luna” in the ceiling is a remnant from the silent film era. The horn was created by Gunnar Torhamn (1894–1965), and via a channel, it amplified the sound of the organ up to the ceiling and out into the auditorium.
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Welcome to Paradise
“Welcome to paradise” was Asplund’s theme for the cinema, reinforced by Ivar Johnsson’s gilded wooden sculptures of Adam and Eve placed on either side of the stage. The handrail on the stairs up to the balconies is shaped like a snake in paradise. On the ceiling above the stairs is Leander Engström’s painting of Zacharias Topelius’ fairy tale, “The Milky Way”, from 1852.
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Entrance to the Royal Lodge
From a secluded room between the stairs up to the balcony, people from the royal court have their own entrance (above) to the royal lodge (below).
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Love seats were used by the “ladies of the evening”
The cinema was renovated for the first time in 1942 and received new comfortable cinema seats. Love seats with room for two people were placed in the back of the stands. This concept had been launched at the Draken cinema a few years earlier. Because the sofas were in the dark and out of sight, they were sometimes used as a workplace by the “ladies of the evening” in Stockholm.
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A promenade flirt with Greece
This area is intended for the public to walk around in during breaks. It resembles a foyer, but a promenade usually does not have a cloakroom, kiosk, or ticket office. The long, narrow room surrounding the salon is decorated with friezes in relief by Nils Enberg, which perceives the salon’s outer walls as a Greek temple.
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Take a break with Chaplin and Shakespeare
Einar Forseth decorated four alcoves in the lower promenade with frieze paintings (1892–1988). There are movie star motifs with Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Mary Pickford and images from Shakespeare’s plays.
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Experience eternity on the stairs
From the vestibule, stairs lead down to the promenade. The two sides have round recessed mirrors, which give the visitor a feeling of eternity.
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The cashiers’ uniforms were designed to fit
The entrance on Drottninggatan is designed as a portico to create an extra festive feeling. From here, you are led into a spacious square foyer where the walls are lined with reliefs representing all art forms created by Stig Blomberg (1901–1970).
Previously, ticket booths were located on the side walls at the opening. Since they were fully glazed, Asplund also designed the cashiers’ uniforms.
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Separate waiting rooms for ladies and gents
The ladies’ waiting room has a fantastic still-life frieze by Hilding Linnqvist (1891–1984). It has been restored, and a newly made replica of the original sofa has also been installed.
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Stjernrummet for the gents
This “Star Room” was the men’s waiting room and is adorned with photo portraits of Gunnar Asplund (right) and Charles Magnusson, CEO of AB Svensk Filmindustri (left), as well as a watercolour by Asplund, showing his vision for the Skandia-Teatern’s auditorium.
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Skandia-Teatern today
In the past, most cinemas only had a single salon. Of all these single cinemas, Skandia-Teatern is the last remaining in Sweden. In May 2000, the County Administrative Board of Stockholm issued a notification obligation under the Historic Environment Act. This means that no changes may be made that significantly reduce the cultural and historical value of the cinema.
After threats of closure, the Stockholm International Film Festival took over the operation of the premises in 2023. In connection with this, a fundraising campaign was started to renovate Skandia-Teatern to its former glory as Sweden’s premier cinema in the long term.
If you would like to donate, click here |
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Erik Gunnar Asplund (1885–1940)
Gunnar Asplund died at only 55 years of age. But during his short life, he managed, like no one else, to put Sweden on the architectural map. His style was Nordic classicism, also known as Swedish Grace. Internationally, Gunnar Asplund is often described as a humanist who never made architecture an end unto itself. However, he was working out of a strong interest in how people should use and perceive his architecture.
In addition to the Skandia-Teatern, the Stockholm City Library, the extension of Gothenburg City Hall, the Lister district courthouse in Sölvesborg, and the exhibition pavilions at the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930 are some of his most significant works.
Asplund worked in parallel with assignments for Skandia-Teatern and the Stockholm City Library. If you visit the two buildings, you will discover many similarities.
From 1915 until he died in 1940, Gunnar Asplund and his colleague Sigurd Lewerentz worked on creating the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm. The complex is one of the most important in modern architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.
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Lasse Olsson Photo photographing and filming architecture, interior design, and lighting. My newsletter is published 4-6 times a year and presents photographed projects.
You can read my previous newsletter om my website - Click Here!
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