Aki Lichtspiele Gelsenkirchen

Located close to the main Railway Station of Gelsenkirchen. The Aki Aktualitaten Lichspiele Im Hauptbahnhof Gelsenkirchen was the 12th newsreel cinema of the Aki chain and opened in 1955 as a single screen theatre.

After World War II the Allies ordered that newsreels were to be screened in every cinema in the West Sector in Germany for the purpose of re-education. In 1950 the Aki Aktualitaten Kino chain was founded and operated by Berhard Frank in Frankfurt Main to screen a newsreel programme without a feature film presentation and cinemas were located close to or inside a railway station. The architects were Joachim Schweitzer & Bartels. It was designed in a Streamline Modern style.

The Aki screened non-stop newsreels, short documentaries and a cartoon. The Aki Aktualitaten Kino cinemas were cheap & successful. The moviegoers only paid 50 Phennige (25 cent) for a ticket. The show started with an International newsreel by Ufa Wochenschau, then the Neue Deutsche Wochenschau was screened. This was followed by the Fox tonende Wochenschau and some commercials. After that a short documentary then a newsreel by Wilt im Bild was screened, followed by a cartoon or a slapstick comedy closed the programme. The running time for one show was 50 minutes. The Aki slogan was “around the world in 50 minutes”. The audience could enter and leave the theatre at any time. The first show started at 9am in the morning and the last at 11pm or 12 midnight. In the auditorium was an illuminated clock and a second smaller screen for train informations.

The Aki Akualitaten Kino chain of newreel cinemas were located in Berlin, Hamburg, Koln, Munich, Hannover, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Bochum, Bremen, Frankfurt Main, Nurnberg, Gelsenkirchen, Achen & Wiesbaden and were operated by Bernhard Frank Aktualitaten Kino GmbH, Frankfurt am Main and Akriengellschoft AG.

The E X projectors were by Ernemann and the sound system was by Klangfilm. The theatre was equipped with a CinemaScope screen with a size of 11 metres. The Aki Lichtspiele Gelsenkirchen was closed in 1971.

Get Movie Tickets & Showtimes

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.