Monday, March 2, 2009

The Lamphun Theater

The ancient city of Lamphun, its origins predating Chiang Mai by close to 700 years, is minuscule in size. Excluding the industrial parks that have sprouted up on the outskirts of town, the city takes about 15 minutes to cross on foot. Just inside the old city walls, but well hidden within a warren of buildings, the ancient capital's lone film venue decays.

The Lamphun Theater is small, and being tucked away behind some buildings, down an alley, made it all the more difficult to locate. The building itself has few visible signs of what it once was.

Former lobby

The old ticket window

The building caretaker, who'd been in a snooker hall next door when I arrived, explained how the Lamphun Theater used to draw crowds that lined up around the block to get in. "That was back when Lamphun's economy was good - in the 70's and 80's," he added. "Now Lamphun is just a transit city for folks on the way to Chiang Mai. It's hard to make a living here unless you work at one of those factories outside town."

Coming Soon


The screen survives

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