Demolition begins on Bangkok’s historic art deco Scala theater despite mall developer’s preservation promise
SEE ALSO: Can Bangkok’s Historic Art Deco Theater ‘The Scala Cinema’ Be Saved?
Nov 1, 2021
The historic facade of an art deco theater from Bangkok’s golden age of cinema was being demolished this morning, according to a video taken from the scene.
Weeks after film geeks and movie-goers learned that the beloved theater Scala would be turned into a shopping mall, live footage streamed late this morning showed its demolition had begun.
“You said you would keep it, didn’t you?” read the video’s caption by Foto_momo, a page archiving Bangkok’s modernist architecture.
Cinema treasure ‘Scala’ doomed to become Central mall
In early September, mall developer Central Pattana Group announced that it would retain as much as possible of Scala’s original structure. Many of its architectural features and decor had in fact been relocated to Pattaya by cinema owner Apex.
Calls to Chulalongkorn University’s Property Management Office and Central Pattana Group went unanswered.
Curtains closed at the theater for the last time in July 2020 after 51 years. It was Thailand’s last operating cinema palace.
Link to Video
Source: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/demolition-begins-on-scala-theater-despite-preservation-promise-video/
