Goli theater
The Goli Theater is a cinema in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Goch .
history
On October 28, 1911 Otto Skoetsch started regular film screenings in Goch after he came into contact with film in the United States of America from 1903 to 1907. The films were initially shown in restaurants. There were two setbacks here: A storm devastated the hall in which the demonstration was taking place, including the furnishings, and later films and equipment fell victim to a fire.
As early as 1913, a cinema was built on what was then Hindenburgstrasse (today Brückenstrasse) at the current location, which opened in February 1914 and was named "Gocher Lichtspiele". There were two performances a day and even three on Saturday and Sunday; Admission: 30 or 40 pfennigs, children half.
In October 1930, the Gocher Lichtspiele were among the first cinemas in Germany to switch from silent films to talkies; Likewise, the Goli was a pioneer in the Cinemascope (broadband format) in 1957.
The original cinema was renovated several times and fell victim to the bombs of the Second World War on the fateful February 7, 1945 .
Already at the end of 1945 it was provisionally continued in the Stenmanns hall on Pfalzdorfer Straße. In 1947 the British occupation authorities granted the license to show films.
With the start of construction in August 1953, today's cinema building was opened on January 15, 1954 . Many stones from the rubble were removed from the plaster by hand and were used in the current building. Admission prices in the 450-seat hall ranged from DM 0.90 to DM 1.80.
In 1970 the double seat was installed on the box and the ventilation system was automated.
In 1979, after 40 years, the projectionist Maria Blömer had unwound a good 80,000 km of film in the Goli. In the end, she remained loyal to cinema for over 45 years.
At the end of March 1984, for reasons of age, the cinema was leased to Hermann and Gisela Peters, who ran the second Goch cinema, the "Lichtburg". A good 10 years later, on February 28, 1995, both cinemas in Goch were stopped.
The Goli could be recalled again and again with special performances. The highlight was the GO'SCAR 2003 as part of the city offensive “Ab in die Mitte”, in which Goch was one of the winners.
In May 2009 someone was found who wanted to run the cinema commercially. Enthusiastic about the prospect of being able to fill the venerable cinema with life again, numerous Gocher - as sponsors and active helpers - unselfishly helped with the renovation, because new fire protection regulations had to be met. The members of the Goch city administration also stood behind this project regardless of the party book and helped wherever they could.
Unfortunately, the operator, who was not particularly happy, was not able to ensure that the cinema would run commercially and fled the house at the end of January 2011.
With the “Spectrum Film Festival” in October 2011, the Goli was reactivated for the company's 100th anniversary with the help of many Gocher. The lively participation of school classes and young people was particularly gratifying. On October 25, 2011, the 100th anniversary of the family business was celebrated in the third generation, and the foundation of an association was encouraged and supported.
The Goli Association was founded on December 7, 2011, with the aim of running the cinema as a non-profit association.
Since February 19, 2012, there has been regular cinema operation again in the Goli. Cinema day is every first and third Sunday of the month. In addition, the cinema is used for numerous special events for schools, clubs and other social groups.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 40 ′ 43.7 " N , 6 ° 9 ′ 28.5" E