National Theatre of El Salvador
Central America's oldest surviving national theatre, opened 1917, with a painted dome and horseshoe auditorium.
The present theatre replaced an earlier house that burned down in February 1910. An international competition was held the same year and won by the French architect Daniel Beylard; building began in 1911 and the theatre opened on 1 March 1917. It was among the first large buildings in Central America to use the Hennebique system of reinforced concrete, which is one reason the shell has survived a century of earthquakes. The exterior and interiors combine French Renaissance massing with Rococo and Art Nouveau detail.
The horseshoe auditorium seats roughly 650 across stalls and three tiers of boxes, beneath a domed ceiling painted by the Salvadoran artist Carlos Cañas in 1975. Upper floors hold a mirrored salon and smaller rooms used for recitals and receptions. The building was declared a national monument in 1979, was damaged in the earthquakes of 2001 and reopened after restoration in 2008. It is the home stage for the National Symphony Orchestra and the national dance and theatre companies.
Highlights
- Opened in 1917 to a design by the French architect Daniel Beylard
- Domed auditorium ceiling painted by Carlos Cañas in 1975
- Early Central American use of Hennebique reinforced concrete
- Guided tours of the boxes, foyer and mirrored upper salon
