In 1927, Eu Tong Sen, a tin mining and rubber magnate, built a Cantonese opera house for his wife who was a Cantonese opera fan.[2] The theatre was Initially known as Tien Yien Moh Toi Theatre (天演舞台).[2] Eu also formed an opera troupe for her, and bought the street on which the theatre sat, naming it Eu Tong Sen Street.
The theatre was a venue for Cantonese opera until 1938, when it was converted into a cinema. The Shaw Brothers rented the place, renamed it the Queen's Theatre, and used it to screen the latest Cantonese blockbuster films.[2]
Shortly after the Japanese occupation ended in 1945, the Shaw Brothers' lease over the theatre also ended in September the same year. It was then tenanted to The Majestic Film Company, which gave the theatre its current name.
In 1956, DatoLoke Wan Tho of Cathay Organisation with two partners, Wong Siew Leng and Teo Cheng Hay, bought the Majestic Theatre for S$1.1 million from the Eu family. During the 1950s and 1960s, the theatre was not only popular among the locals but also attracted film stars from Hong Kong such as Grace Chang, Lin Dai and Ge Lan.
The Majestic
In 1983, the Cathay Organisation became the sole owner after they bought out the partnership. The theatre continued screening Chinese films until 1998 when it was closed.
Redevelopmentedit
In the early 2000s, the Majestic Theatre was renovated at a cost of S$8 million into a three-story shopping mall. The conservation building was then renamed The Majestic, and was opened on 17 January 2003.
In July 2007, Cathay Realty, the real estate subsidiary of the Cathay Organisation, put The Majestic up for sale at an estimated S$43 million.
Architectureedit
The Majestic is one of the prominent landmarks in Chinatown, and the theatre was once the grandest building there. The building is a mixture of Western and Chinesearchitectural styles.
The facade of the theatre is decorated with tiles depicting Cantonese opera scenes, and shiny and colourful mosaic which show flying dragons with heads and tails connected. The theatre was built to accommodate a seating capacity of 1,194. The opera house was a cavernous hallway with a huge domed ceiling, below which there is a logo of the letter "M" for "Majestic".
Referencesedit
^. National Library Board. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
^ abcde"The Majestic". www.roots.gov.sg. from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
External linksedit
Official website of the Cathay Organisation
April 12, 2024
majestic, singapore, this, article, about, singapore, theatre, other, uses, majestic, theatre, disambiguation, majestic, chinese, 大华戏院, pinyin, dàhuá, xìyuàn, historic, building, tong, street, chinatown, singapore, next, chinatown, station, located, between, p. This article is about the Singapore theatre For other uses see Majestic Theatre disambiguation The Majestic Chinese 大华戏院 pinyin Dahua xiyuan is a historic building on Eu Tong Sen Street in Chinatown Singapore next to Chinatown MRT station Located between the People s Park Complex and Yue Hwa Building it was known as Majestic Theatre which was a Cantonese opera house 1 The Majestic大华戏院The Majestic in October 2018Location in SingaporeFormer namesTien Yien Moh Toi TheatreQueen s TheatreTai Hwa Opera HouseMajestic TheatreGeneral informationStatusCompletedTypeCommercialClassificationMLocationChinatown SingaporeAddress80 Eu Tong Sen Street Singapore 059810CountrySingaporeCoordinates1 17 05 N 103 50 35 E 1 284722 N 103 843167 E 1 284722 103 843167Current tenantsShaw Organisation former The Majestic Film Company former Named forThe Majestic Film CompanyConstruction started1927Completed1928OwnerEu Tong Sen former Cathay RealtyLandlordEu Tong Sen former Technical detailsFloor count3 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 2 Post war years 1 3 Redevelopment 2 Architecture 3 References 4 External linksHistory editEarly history edit In 1927 Eu Tong Sen a tin mining and rubber magnate built a Cantonese opera house for his wife who was a Cantonese opera fan 2 The theatre was Initially known as Tien Yien Moh Toi Theatre 天演舞台 2 Eu also formed an opera troupe for her and bought the street on which the theatre sat naming it Eu Tong Sen Street The building was designed by Swan and Maclaren the leading architectural firm at that time which also designed Raffles Hotel and Victoria Memorial Hall The theatre was completed in 1928 The theatre was a venue for Cantonese opera until 1938 when it was converted into a cinema The Shaw Brothers rented the place renamed it the Queen s Theatre and used it to screen the latest Cantonese blockbuster films 2 During the Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II the theatre was renamed Tai Hwa Opera House when the Imperial Japanese Army took control of it 2 It was used to screen Japanese propaganda films 2 Post war years edit Shortly after the Japanese occupation ended in 1945 the Shaw Brothers lease over the theatre also ended in September the same year It was then tenanted to The Majestic Film Company which gave the theatre its current name In 1956 Dato Loke Wan Tho of Cathay Organisation with two partners Wong Siew Leng and Teo Cheng Hay bought the Majestic Theatre for S 1 1 million from the Eu family During the 1950s and 1960s the theatre was not only popular among the locals but also attracted film stars from Hong Kong such as Grace Chang Lin Dai and Ge Lan nbsp The MajesticIn 1983 the Cathay Organisation became the sole owner after they bought out the partnership The theatre continued screening Chinese films until 1998 when it was closed Redevelopment edit In the early 2000s the Majestic Theatre was renovated at a cost of S 8 million into a three story shopping mall The conservation building was then renamed The Majestic and was opened on 17 January 2003 In July 2007 Cathay Realty the real estate subsidiary of the Cathay Organisation put The Majestic up for sale at an estimated S 43 million Architecture editThe Majestic is one of the prominent landmarks in Chinatown and the theatre was once the grandest building there The building is a mixture of Western and Chinese architectural styles The facade of the theatre is decorated with tiles depicting Cantonese opera scenes and shiny and colourful mosaic which show flying dragons with heads and tails connected The theatre was built to accommodate a seating capacity of 1 194 The opera house was a cavernous hallway with a huge domed ceiling below which there is a logo of the letter M for Majestic References edit Singapore Infopedia Majestic Theatre National Library Board Archived from the original on 4 July 2007 Retrieved 5 August 2007 a b c d e The Majestic www roots gov sg Archived from the original on 1 February 2023 Retrieved 1 February 2023 External links editOfficial website of the Cathay Organisation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Majestic Singapore amp oldid 1144377214, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
