Down the Majestic memory lane
GEORGE TOWN: It was a trip down memory lane after the refurbished Majestic Theatre screened silver screen classics of yesteryears over the weekend.
Choong Teng Mie, 85, said catching a movie at the building nestled between Jalan Khoo Sian Ewe and Jalan Phee Choon brought back a flood of memories.
He said he used to spend a lot of time in his younger days at the theatre.
“This was the place my wife and I dated before we got married,” he grinned when met at the screening of kung-fu classic 36th Chamber of Shaolin and was accompanied by his wife Teoh Ah Bee, 84.
The Khoo Sian Ewe Hall housed the cinema after the building was constructed in 1929 by the eponymous philanthropist then.
The cinema industry suffered a decline with the advent of shopping complexes resulting in standalone cinemas, like Majestic, closing down in the early 1980s and 1990s.
Premium boutique property developer and management company 1919 Global took over the property and refurbished the 15,319sq ft space for use as a movie theatre and for performing arts and public events.
Sales and marketing manager Josephine Leong said the movie screenings are scheduled for the third weekend of each month from November until January 2017.
She said the screenings paid tribute to the rich Malaysian cinematic heritage and was a way to link the past to the present.
“The response so far has been good, the first day (Nov 19) saw more than 200 persons attending,” she told theSun.
Another traveller along memory lane was Tang Chai Oh, 77, who said he could not believe it when told the cinema had reopened and had to see it for himself.
“I was here every week to watch my favourite shows, the tickets then were only 40 cents,” he said.
Tang said he and a friend were regular patrons until the cinema screened its final show in the 1980s but his friend had passed on a few years ago.
“I always remember him when I pass this building, if he was still alive I am sure we will still meet up to catch a good movie,” the pensioner said.