Teatro Gran Rex

The Teatro Gran Rex is an Art Deco style theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina which opened on July 8, 1937, as the largest cinema in South America. Located near the centre of the city at 857 Corrientes Avenue, it was designed by the architect Alberto Prebisch, who was also in charge of the construction of the Obelisk, one of the main icons of the city. The design of the interior was influenced by that of Radio City Music Hall in New York and construction of the theatre was completed in just seven months in association with the engineer Adolfo Moret. The opening caused a sensation and the Argentine intellectual Victoria Ocampo praised the theatre as an outstanding example of modern architecture from the pages of her influential literary journal, Sur. Today, the theatre has 3,300 seats and, together with the Teatro Opera on the opposite side of the street, is one of the city's most important venues for the staging of international shows.