Oaza Cinema / Оаза

Oaza Cinema was among Kaunas’s earliest permanent cinemas, generally dated to 1907. It occupied an upstairs hall in an existing nineteenth-century corner building at Laisvės alėja and A. Mickevičiaus gatvė, known as the Kamber house. Its interwar address was Laisvės alėja 28. The Ąžuolynas Library identifies the modern address as Laisvės alėja 42, although other accounts use 42A or 44.

A retrospective published in Technikos žodis in 2003 reports 200 seats, live performers and a string orchestra. That account dates the opening to 1908, rather than the 1907 given by the library and subsequent historical research.

A building history places the auditorium in the eastern portion of the second story, with access from Laisvės alėja on the western side. It records screenings in 1924 of two French-made animated films by Władysław Starewicz: “The Frogs Who Desired a King” and “The Voice of the Nightingale”.

Oaza attracted criticism in the interwar press for worn prints, projection quality and misleading advertising. It also offered charitable screenings: on 16th February 1923, soldiers and children from orphanages attended two free performances. In 1929, a presentation of Paramount’s “Wings” was criticized for being advertised as a sound film despite the cinema lacking suitable equipment; the accompanying loudspeaker effects reportedly bore little relation to the picture.

An advertisement in the Russian-language Kaunas newspaper Nashe Ekho, no. 150, dated 6 September 1929, announced F. W. Murnau’s “4 Devils” from Tuesday, 3 September. Advertised as the opening attraction of the autumn season, it played with a large string and wind orchestra and a specially arranged accompaniment. A Paramount newsreel accompanied the feature, with performances advertised at 6, 8 and 10 p.m.

On 4 October 1929, a fire broke out during an evening performance. Historical research drawing on contemporary newspapers describes film igniting in the projection room and fire spreading into the auditorium and waiting area. The projectionist and several patrons suffered burns. Reports differed over the extent of the panic and damage.

The fire accelerated efforts to close cinemas occupying upper floors. Oaza’s official closure is recorded as 20 July 1930, by order of the Minister of the Interior. However, Sekmadienis of 24th August 1930 still printed a programme under its name, leaving the precise date of the final performance unresolved.

In Autumn 1932, the Independent Artists’ Society rented the former cinema hall and three rooms for an art salon. That venture closed in 1933. A separate account records a posthumous exhibition of artist J. Mesenbliumas opening in the former cinema on 14th April 1934.

The building subsequently contained residential accommodation, including communal apartments during the Soviet period. Extensive renovation was underway in 2013, with architect Kęstutis Mikšys overseeing work that included façade restoration and replacement of deteriorated internal structures. Offices were planned for the upper floor and attic. The building survives, but an intact original cinema interior has not been established.

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