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The Animatograhp cinema only existed for a few days in Barcelona. It was inaugurated on May 25, 1901, in one of the interior rooms of the disappeared Café Novedades, one of the classic recreational establishments inaugurated at the end of the 19th century.
The first Novedades café, built in wood (something normal at that time), was inaugurated on March 1, 1884. Given its establishment in the society of that time, Ignacio Elías wanted to provide Barcelona with a spacious establishment that would be a source of pride for the people. city.
In 1895, the premises were expanded to build a large billiard room and other rooms where customers could listen to musical performances, something that at that time had become fashionable in large cafeterias.
But he not only dedicated the room to the game, he created a school in which competitions were also held. It was inaugurated on Wednesday, September 23, 1896.
The birth of cinematography and the intention of wanting to offer something more to the client led to the rehabilitation of one of its rooms and, after providing it with the necessary equipment, it was inaugurated as Animatograhp, in the room where Café Novedades held concerts and performances. artistic performances that had been active until the previous day.
Animatograhp was the name of the new projector invented by Robert Paul, a pioneer of British cinema and builder of a device that, due to its simplicity, quickly gained acceptance in the animated film market, although its continuous problems penalized it and made it a time out of the market.
On the opening day, the Animatograhp of Café Novedades screened: The Crime of Plauxet, The Cursed Tower and the famous Quo Vadis...? and children's Minnet in colors. The sessions were held from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., with a price of 25 cents per ticket. The next day, Sunday, the same programming was carried out.
The problems caused during the sessions, caused by the malfunction of the projector and the lack of training of the operator in charge of operating it, forced the company to appear, on Monday the 27th, on the La Vanguardia billboard, on page 8, an announcement indicating that film sessions were suspended due to reforms in the projection machinery until further notice.
The advertisement was published daily until Saturday, June 1, disappearing afterwards without any communication regarding it. On the same Monday the 27th, in another announcement, the Gran Café Restaurante Novedades reported the resumption of the old concerts from 5 4 7 pm and from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight.
This is how the Animatograhp only lasted two days, but it must count as a disappeared cinema in Barcelona.
Later, on December 13, 1906, the Animatograhp projector began to operate again, on Vilà Vilà street in Automatas Lepes and Animatograhp, which had been inaugurated in the old Barcelonesa Pajarera.
For its inauguration, it presented the zarzuela The art of being beautiful and in the intermissions of the events, the premiere of films took place, projected by the new device from the company Animatograhp. After Christmas of that same year, it disappeared from the billboards and the venue was closed to celebrate any type of show.
Despite all of Robert Paul's problems and the great failures as a result of the continuous failures of the Animatograhp, he continued with his animation work, demonstrating his quality as a cartoonist.
In 1912 and 1913, he made two works in the world of animation that achieved the admiration of the public: How a Mosquito Operates (1912) and Gertie the Dinosaur (1913). Later, in 1914, the American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay made a short film with the same title
In 1910, the Poble Sec premises became the Petit Moulin Rouge, which operated until the end of the civil war, when, due to legal imperatives of the Franco regime, it became the famous El Molino.
But that's another story...
