Garden Theatre “Beautiful view”

At the junction of Vasilissis Sofias and Mavromichali streets stood one of the oldest cafes in Xanthi, called “Beautiful View”. It was built around 1910 by Giannakos Orphanidis. Until 1913, the secondary bed of the Kossynthos river passed in front of it. In its courtyard, the open-air cinema Ilissia (Elysium) operated. Many people climbed the wall of the courtyard to gain entry and watch cinema for free. This issue even garnered attention in the local press in 1955: “The police doesn’t take action against the freeloaders of “Beautiful View”. They climb the walls and enter the cinema”.

In the middle of the photo stands the wall of the garden-theatre enclosure. Just behind it, the elongated building with numerous windows is the Khan of Moses, while the imposing building in the background is the Orphanides mansion, which functioned as the Town Hall of Xanthi until recently. 

Creator: Unknown (1915)
Source: Tasos Tefronidis’ private collection