Wealthy investors of Isfahan, inspired by the theaters and cinemas of Lalehzar, began constructing their own movie halls and performance venues. These spaces shaped the memories of many who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s.
Mayak, the First Cinema in Isfahan
Some researchers, including Zaven Ghoukassian, suggest that the first place films were shown in Isfahan was a rooftop teahouse on Fathiyeh Street (the street leading to Chaharbagh, now part of Hasht Behesht Park). Even Reza Arham Sadr referred to this location in one of his interviews.
However, the first official cinema in Isfahan was Mayak, built in 1929 (1308 in the Iranian calendar) at Darvazeh Dowlat by Mohammad Jafar Moghazzi. Its exact location corresponds to the southern wing of the current Isfahan City Hall building. Later, Moghazzi built two more cinemas, named Sepah and Iran, whose precise locations are unknown but were documented as being within the Darvazeh Dowlat area.
Mayak, along with Iran and Hafez cinemas (today Palestine Cinema), eventually came under the ownership of the Mesghali and Mizani families and became among the most essential cinemas in Isfahan. Mayak’s summer hall opened in the 1940s, and its winter hall around 1944 (1323), both located on Chaharbagh. Over the years, they screened films such as Casablanca, Spartacus, and Samson and Delilah.
The summer hall of Mayak was demolished before the 1979 revolution, while the winter hall operated under the name Polisario until it was destroyed on January 6, 1986, to make way for a park. Mayak, therefore, was an 81-year-old cinema that largely disappeared, leaving only two walls at the western entrance of Chaharbagh.
Expanding Cinema in Isfahan
In 1930, another cinema, Shahpur, was built, bringing Isfahan to four cinemas in its first decade of the 20th century. However, construction slowed afterward; between 1931 and 1941, Shahpur was closed, and only Homa on Chaharbagh and Mihan on Hafez Street were built, although Homa had a short lifespan.
Cinema as the Main Entertainment
At that time, Isfahan, known for its textile factories, was often compared to Manchester in England. A large working-class population had emerged, with diverse political, religious, and ideological views. These groups occasionally acted collectively or in smaller factions. Each working and middle-class group had its own social hangouts, many of which led to Mayak Cinema, the largest and most important cinema in Isfahan by 1941. At that time, besides Mayak, only Homa and Iran were operational.
After World War II, as famine, war, British occupation, and Russian Bolshevik influence waned, cities resumed their growth. Two important new cinemas were built: Taj Cinema at the current Kazerooni Passage and Jolfa National Cinema in the Jolfa district. Cinema construction increased, and additional halls appeared across Chaharbagh, Hakim Nezami, Nazer, and other northern areas of the city. Isfahan became one of the most important centers for theater and cinema in Iran, even developing its own dramatic schools, with enthusiastic public support.
All Roads Lead to Chaharbagh
Chaharbagh was a central landmark for generations of people. The story of cinema in the city often ends with this street. By the late 1950s, Chaharbagh was recognized as a hub for entertainment and a focal point for cinema-goers. This continued through the 1960s, when cinemas like Asia, Moulin Rouge, Hafez, Homayoun, and many others opened along the street.
Thus, Chaharbagh Abbasi hosted the city's most essential cinemas, a role it continues to carry today. Once home to Safavid gardens, it transformed into a significant economic, social, and cultural center, with cinema playing a central role—a legacy still visible in Isfahan’s theaters and cinemas today.