Tuschinski Theatre
The Tuschinski is a cinema on the Reguliersbreestraat, opened in 1921 by Abraham Tuschinski. Its façade and interior mix Art Deco, Jugendstil and the Amsterdam School, and it is still a working cinema.
The man who built this left Poland for America. He got as far as Rotterdam, where his ship was due to sail, and stayed.
Abraham Tuschinski left Poland as a young man, meaning to emigrate to the United States. Rotterdam was supposed to be a stop on the way. He opened a cinema there, then several. By 1919 he was rich enough to attempt what he really wanted: the most luxurious picture palace in Europe, in the middle of Amsterdam.
He spent about four million guilders on it, an enormous sum, and held nothing back. The front is covered in glazed tile and wrought iron. Inside there were thick carpets, painted walls, coloured lamps and a cinema organ. No single style describes it. It borrows from Art Deco, from Jugendstil and from the Amsterdam School, and adds a good deal that is only Tuschinski. It opened on 28 October 1921.
In 1940 the occupiers took the theatre from him and gave it a German-sounding name, the Tivoli. Tuschinski and almost all of his family were deported. He was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942.
After the war the cinema got his name back. It has been carefully restored, and it still shows films every day.
What to look for
The two towers
Step back across the street and look up. The front rises into a pair of slim towers with green domes, far taller than a cinema needs.
The tiles and ironwork
Nothing on the façade is plain. Look at the lamps, the glazed tiles and the shapes around the windows.
The lobby
If the doors are open, look in. The carpet, the lamps and the painted ceiling of the entrance hall are the best part of the building.
Key facts
- Opened
- 28 October 1921
- Built for
- Abraham Tuschinski
- Style
- Art Deco, Jugendstil and Amsterdam School
- Cost
- About 4 million guilders
- Address
- Reguliersbreestraat 26–34, Amsterdam Directions
Close by
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The dates, names and figures on this page were checked against published references. These are the records for this place. The story is Lookstory’s own telling of them. Last updated October 2026.