Mark Aronov’s cinema
Mark Aronov’s cinema
The building of the current art school on the opposite side of the avenue attracts attention for its "eclectic" architecture. It was in this building where the third Jewish school was located in the 30s of the 20th century. On the wall of the building, the current art school, we see a drawing of St. Stephen's Cathedral, built during the era of the Jesuit order in the city. Then the cathedral was handed over to the Orthodox and consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas. But in 1964 it was ruthlessly blown up. A residential building was built on the site of the cathedral, but the temple, as if through a mirror, continues to be reflected on the wall of the art school. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the cathedral towered over the square, another building was here next to the art school, in which the entrepreneur Aronov opened a cinema called the Colosseum. There were 310 seats in the cinema hall, 44 seats in the second tier, 12 seats in the loggias. Nearby, on the wasteland, where there were pits and ruins, a garden of 50-60 trees, brought from Riga, appeared. The residents of Polotsk were very fond of the cinema. Aronov took note and developed his business. Soon he built a summer theater opposite the Colosseum. In  summer, actors performed here and a buffet operated. Mark Aronov at the beginning of the 20th century created the most fashionable quarter in the city here, bringing in the best artists and developed the cinema. He created several theatrical venues, cinemas, preventing the city from becoming a remote province. A photo of Aronov's house from 1918 has survived. It was a three-story building with an arch located next to the building of the art school. Some parts of it were rented out, such as to the photographer Bermant, the hat-making workshop and others. There was a bulletin board in the arch, where the announcements of performances and films were hung out, advertising to the townspeople. From 1909 to 1919 Mark Osipovich Aronov was the most famous resident of Polotsk. He made our city a theater and cinema center. In the Soviet years, Aronov  installed benches in the cinema hall. In 1920, there were performances almost every day in the city. The city cinema changed its name to "Awakening"and worked every day except Monday. But after the revolution theatrical institutions were nationalized, and Aronov was left penniless. Later he was hired by the education department. Back in the 1970s, the descendants of Aronov still lived in Polotsk, later they moved to Israel, and their connection with the city was lost. Mark Aronov is an underrecognized personality, and we should not forget his contributions.
As seen on
Jewish streets of Polotsk
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