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After the inauguration in the premises of the photographers Napoleón de la Rambla in December 1896, Barcelona had two premises with the name of Auguste and Louis Lumière, born in Besançon, sons of the photographer Antoine Lumière. These were also attributed as the property of Napoleon photographers.
The first projection made by the Lumière brothers was to present the invention they had patented on February 13, 1895, which took place on March 22, 1895, in Paris. It was an exhibition at the premises of the Society for the Development of the National Industry, which was attended by 200 members.
But they still had to spend nine months to demonstrate to the members of the National Industry that their invention was the most viable of all the models presented by their competitors and to be able to present the first commercial projection on December 28, 1895.
The first of the two cinemas that were installed in Barcelona, ??under the name of Lumière, was built on a plot of land owned by Antonio Fernández, Anne Tiffon’s husband, who owned it at Avenida Marqués del Duero 72, between the Gran Barbería del Obrero and the first Olympia Theatre, which had been inaugurated on September 10, 1901.
Like almost all the venues that were being built at that time, in Paralelo, it was modestly built and was the first cinema to open in a territory conquered by theaters, which was popularly known as the Paralelo Cinematograph.
It was inaugurated on December 15, 1897, with a performance by the Casa de la Caridad band, which offered a concert and the screening of nine films: Soldiers in the camp, Arrival of a train, Arrival of Mazzantini at the beach , Bullfight, Women’s Fight, Snow Battle, Diana’s Bath, Queen’s Lancers Parade, and Cavalry Crossing a River.
Its inauguration meant that the regulars of the Paralelo could choose between going to the theater or choosing the new invention of the cinematograph and knowing in person the experience of seeing moving images.
Soon, seeing the success of the cinema in that place full of theaters, the citizen of Italian origin Enric Farrús Piñol, known as Farrusin, saw the opportunity to open a new cinema at number 80, a few meters from the Lumière.
The competition and the need for a forced transformation of the premises to compete with the Metensmograf, caused its final closure and, later, in 1906, the site was acquired by the Café Concierto Sevilla.
The second Lumière Cinematograph was located in the old Calle Cortes 311 (now Gran Vía 668), near the now-defunct Teatro Granvía (former Ritz hotel and current Palace).
The lag in the numbering is due to the fact that at the beginning, the current Gran Vía began in Plaza España. Place where the city began and the Cruz de Termino was built. Neither Cerdà nor anyone else at that time thought about the current growth.
In 1903, with the confusion in the numbering of the city, he decided to unify criteria in the numbering of all the streets of the expansion. The numbering would start from the part of the Llobregat river towards the Besòs and, seeing that the only street with the possibility of growing on both sides was Gran Vía, he changed the numbering and placed number 392 at the intersection of Gran Vía, Paralelo and Cruz Cubierta. .
It was inaugurated on June 12, 1900, with sessions beginning at 6 in the afternoon, announcing an “astonishing spectacle!” It offered admirable views in color and the latest views of the World’s Fair in Paris. With the projection as well as a selection of views in color, popular dances and a selection of photographic views.
The place was divided into three sections: general admission, with a price of 15 cents, preference “2” at 25 and preference “1” at 50 cents.
Two days after the opening, the film of Christ on the waves premiered, along with the other fillers. It was the first and last film to be released at the venue, since it disappeared from newspaper billboards on Thursday the 21st of the same month. From that moment the closure of the premises and silence enveloped the end of the second Limière cinema.
It was one of the many places from the beginning of the 20th century that should be remembered for having existed, not because they could have contributed little or nothing to the history of cinematography.
