King's Cinema, 2nd Avenue
Built in the 1950s and bombed by apartheid forces in 1984, King's Cinema on 2nd Avenue is one of the most defiant buildings in South Africa — it was rebuilt, reopened, and kept on screening. This art-deco movie house once rang with performances by Hugh Masekela and African Jazz Passions, and it still flickers with life today.
A Cinema That Refused to Die
King's Cinema was once the busiest movie house in Alex and a key cultural venue where local musicians used the stage to spread the message of resistance against apartheid to packed, electrified audiences. The fact that it was deliberately bombed — and then rebuilt by the community — says everything about the spirit of Alexandra.
Today the cinema still screens mainstream films, making it the rare historic landmark you can actually sit inside, buy popcorn, and experience as a living venue rather than a roped-off relic.
The Cultural Heartbeat of Old Alex
King's sits at the centre of what tour operators call the 'old Alex' walking circuit — a cluster of 2nd Avenue institutions that together paint a vivid picture of township cultural life across seven decades. Acapella jazz groups like Amadoda Anetshebe have been known to perform impromptu sets nearby for visiting tour groups, giving you a soundtrack to match the architecture.
The building's exterior, with its faded signage and bold geometry, is a photographer's dream — particularly in the golden light of late afternoon when the street vendors set up and the avenue hums with foot traffic.
Combining It with a Walking Tour
King's Cinema is a standard stop on the guided walking tours run by operators based at Alex Mall, who weave it into a broader narrative that includes home galleries, the heritage precinct, and the Art Affair Gallery. Booking a guided walk is strongly recommended — the cinema's significance is almost impossible to grasp without the local storytelling that surrounds it.
Ask your guide about the musicians who performed here; the names Hugh Masekela and the Alexandra All Star Band are woven into the very walls of this place.
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