Movie Theater Brazil Vallourec

(Former Movie Theater Brazil)

Movie Theater Brazil Vallourec is located in Sete de Setembro square, at the confluence of Afonso Pena and Amazonas avenues with Carijós street. Opened on July 14, 1932, it was the first Art Deco building in the capital of Minas Gerais and one of the precursors in reinforced concrete construction, with cement imported from England.

At this time, it obtained the status of the largest cinema in Latin America and, with seven floors (corresponding to eleven), it was the tallest building in Belo Horizonte. Before the inauguration of the Francisco Nunes Theater, in 1950, it was also the largest theater in the capital of Minas Gerais, whose population revolved around 120,000 inhabitants.

In addition to the exhibition of films, the house of spectacles also received theatrical and lyrical companies and promoted carnival dances. During the 63 years of its existence, it actively participated in the cultural life of the city and contributed as a stage to receive important figures of history.

The construction was projected in 1930, by engineer architect Ângelo Alberto Murgel, born in Cataguases, Minas Gerais, a graduate from the National School of Fine Arts, in Rio de Janeiro, an institution where he later came to teach. In this work, Ângelo had the technical advice of Emílio Baumgart, a calculator engineer who worked with the group of architects Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer on the building project of the Ministry of Education in Rio de Janeiro.

Being located in a corner, the building was planned with well-defined geometric volumes, with a curvilinear facade with powder stone finish, little external ornamentation and beautiful stained glass windows of iron and frosted glass, as was appropriate in the Art Deco style. This style enhances the pure and clean lines, the modern and aerodynamic design, inspired by several sources and not abandoning the search for abstraction. Art Deco, through the triad of architecture, interiors and design, is an attempt to bring art in all its manifestations to the public in general.

The Movie Theater Brazil project served two distinct and independent functions: the movie theater and a block of rooms and shops. A gallery connected the Amazonas avenue to Carijós street, where there were shops, restaurants and elevators, which reached the top three floors with office rooms. At the corner, one climbed the steps to enter the foyer, which led to the main auditorium. Also from the foyer, there were lateral galleries that reached, by means of stairs, the balconies, from where it was possible to see a stage, with free height between the floor and the ceiling equal to eight floors.

The air conditioning system was installed in the cinema in 1937 and, like the projection equipment, was replaced several times. Throughout its existence, refurbishes were made, as well as some attempts to de-characterize the original construction.

In the year 2000, after being deactivated as a cinema, the State Institute of the Historical and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais (Iepha-MG) registered the building as a cultural asset, which prevented the building from having the same fate as the Metropolis Cinema, on Bahia Street, which was demolished in 1983 after being bought by Bradesco Bank. Movie Theater Brazil was acquired in 2006 by the Sidertube Foundation, an entity sponsored by the Vallourec Group companies, which financed the entire restoration, with a project approved by the Rouanet Law.

On October 8, 2013, the building was reopened with the name Movie Theater Brazil Vallourec, currently operating as a cultural center. It has 8.3 thousand m² of built area, a main auditorium with 1,000 seats and a minor with 200, a multipurpose room for events with up to 650 people, two galleries for visual arts exhibitions and a bistro cafe.