Forsaken Albania

By Artan Lame
Tirana,1941. Towards the end of the ‘thirties, Sk쯤er Luarasi, one of the finest architects of this country of the first half of the 20th Century was commissioned to build an object which for the ensuing fifty years remained one of the finest cinemas in the country. Following the occupation by the Italians, this cinema was expanded and reconstructed, making it, at the time, a building with one of the most modern interiors in the country and the rest of the Balkans. Naturally, the Italians could not christen it with any other name other than “The Rex.,” not only to honour their own monarch, who at that time was also our monarch, but also to indicate the rank of the cinema. After the war, the name of the building was changed to, “17 Nendori”, (17 November), but without losing any of its fame.
In the bigger photo, a group of Albanian recruits had their photograph taken in the entrance to the cinema. Dressed in mufti, (having been given leave), and in the company of their Italian officers, having their photo taken was part of the ritual of going to see a film at the cinema. The cinema’s name shines on the wall and behind the rows of the soldiers you can see the columns on which the second floor and the projection room rested. I don’t believe there is any inhabitant of Tirana who had not walked down the narrow corridor between the walls and the columns to purchase tickets, a few steps away from the main entrance to the cinema, or when walking down the street.
The other photo shows a view of the interior of the cinema hall. The luxury and shine of the newly renovated environment, really need no lengthy explanations. I can’t imagine that there is a single inhabitant above 20 years of age who would not recognise these photos. Now they can only recognise the photos because the building is no longer there. In 2002-2003, on the site of the former cinema, the construction work began on a massive bloc of apartments, wiping out yet the memory of yet another symbol in the city. To tell you and to explain, like one of those stubborn old men, what I tried to do to save the cinema no longer holds value, because I failed, or otherwise you can wait until I grow old. But despite this I cannot just lie back and sleep peacefully at night saying to myself, “well, I did do my best.” Save these photos so that when your children grow up and go to school and learn about the talent of Architcet Luarasi, they can say that it is true we annihilated his work, but we do have a necrology. But, anyway, I did do my bit.