TA Nea, a Greek newspaper’s nostalgic article concerning the Smyrna theatre. The caption of the photograph reads: “Smyrna had a tradition of the performing arts and a public which appreciated music and the theatre. In the photograph we see the famous ‘Smyrna Theatre’ [Theatre de Smyrne] which was built in imitation of the Paris opera house, but on a smaller scale, and the production is of [Verdi’s opera] Rigoletto in 1917. The Athens opera company was founded in 1939 and still hasn’t acquired a theatre appropriate for opera productions.”

A postcard view of the Kramer theatre on the Smyrna seafront.

Postcard views of the Smyrna theatre on the Smyrna seafront, built by Charles Missir.

The archive photo of one of the many pleasure palaces of Smyrna, pre and post-1922 fire, the Elhambra theatre.

The former Tayyare cinema as seen in the 1940s, on the Cordon of Alsancak.

The former Melek (formerly Venus) cinema of Karşıyaka, closed down in 1987.