Work begins to demolish Kadıköy's iconic movie theater

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The demolition of the Rexx movie theater in İstanbul's Asian district of Kadıköy has begun.

Opened in 1962 as "the Reks Movie Theater," Rexx was one of the oldest theaters in the city.

The theater was already having financial difficulties due to the decrease in ticket sales and was closed in late March, shortly after the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Turkey.

Photo: Kadıköy Life

Viron Anas, who had run the theater for 30 years, had said the rent for the building was too high and they were not able to cover the expenses.

The Rum Orthodox Foundation, which owns the property, had said that they hadn't increased the rent for three years, however, the building was not earthquake resistant and should be demolished.

Kostandin Kiracopulu, the vice-chair of the foundation board, told Kadıköy Gazetesi that they were thinking about building a cultural complex.

Photo: İstanbul Architects' Chamber

The building was designed by Maruf Önal, a late prominent architect.

It was opened as the "Reks movie theater" in 1962 and its name was changed to "Rexx" in 2006 after the number of salons in the theater was increased from three to six.

The first movie shown in the theater was the 1961 movie "Pecado de Amor."