Ok so I am back from a wonderful trip to my beloved Madrid. And started reminicents of my old times there and the things I saw change. Well it has not impacted me much as lucky enough to visit the city several times after i left it from four beautiful years living there. However, even without pictures today one spot impacted me to see it empty and like to tell you about it. To know, the Cine Aragon is closed since 2005. Promise last post on Madrid ::)
When my stay in Madrid, my mother would scrap some money ,pesetas, to take me to the movies. We did not have much money then in the old regime, and were very happy to go to the movies once a month. As we live off metro Quintana line 5 exit on Calle de Alcalà 331, the closest to us even on foot was the Cine Aragon at Calle de Alcalà 334!
This was a very modern cinema for the times , and we were very happy to be there. I went in several times and was able to bring in my girlfriend then dear late wife Martine. They close early so no time to bring my sons once in France. The memories will lingered forever as one of the warmest nicest places that attach me forever to my beloved Madrid, Cine Aragon it was!
A bit of history I like
On February 8, 1954, another cinema with the name of Cine Aragon opened in the Ctra. De Aragon 124 ; it will become Calle de Alcalà 334 in honor of its location, with the program in continuous session “Al diablo la celebridad” (to hell the celebrity), and Mundos Opuestos (opposite worlds). It was inserted in a residential building and had a wide facade where they placed their billboards. The entrance was preceded by steps that gave way to a high hall with two stairs, one at each end, under one of which were the lockers. Four entrances gave way to the cinema room, with a slope towards the screen and a high plaster ceiling. It was decorated in reddish tones and had a capacity of 1500 seats distributed between the patio and the amphitheater. In the upper part a large lounge and the bar, next to which the toilets were installed, in front of these, two corridors led us to the amphitheater that developed vertiginously until reaching the projection windows.
In 1997, during the screening of the movie “Rescate” (Rescue) a fire filled the cinema room with smoke and caused it to be evicted. The material damages were substantial. The place remained closed until August 1998, when it reopened completely renovated with a single room with capacity for 550 spectators, with several seats convertible into a single special for couples. In August of 2005 after the screening of “Ninnete” the Cine Aragon closed forever. Then came the decomposition and this time the El Corte Inglés, at the head with Sfera store left us orphaned of the cinema. Today there are Poly toys store last check.
This is a sad trend in Madrid and Spain in general. The last 50 years shows the gradual decline of cinemas. In this period it has fallen from the peak of 161 cinemas in 1969 to the current 31, in Madrid , the lowest figure, reached in 2015 and currently maintained. After the Cine Ideal, the oldest still open are the Doré (1923), Callao (1926), Palacio de la Prensa (1929), Capitol (1931) and Projecciones (1931) (I have posted on the cinemas highlighter in my blog) . Today, 31 are still cinemas, 30 are dedicated to catering, 24 are currently unused stores, 17 are supermarkets, 17 are other stores (11 of them clothing), 16 are theaters and another 16 are gyms. And we call that advancement in the future world, so sad!
No webpage and no photos, just a souvenir of mine that I wanted to establish forever in my blog , I hope. Cine Aragon was a happy humble small moment for me but a huge impact in my life and on Madrid itself forever. From Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday! Hope you enjoy the old story!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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