Cine Tauro
A landmark former cinema and entertainment venue in Lima, Peru, later associated with adult-film exhibition and repeated municipal closures.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Cine Tauro was a large cinema and entertainment venue in central Lima, Peru, designed by Peruvian architect Walter Weberhofer. The project was initially conceived under the name Cine Washington, reflecting its location on Washington Street, and formed part of a more ambitious modern commercial complex. The original plan called for a ten-story office building combined with an entertainment center, but the completed development was reduced to three commercial floors and a basement. The cinema opened to the public on April 5, 1960, with a screening of Pillow Talk, starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. During its first two decades, Cine Tauro was regarded as one of Lima’s modern and popular cinemas. Its design was visually distinctive: the building presented a façade of broad windows toward a triangular plaza at the junction of Washington and Delgado streets, while a prominent neon sign identified the venue. Inside, a covered entrance hall organized circulation around oval columns, ticketing areas, and access to the auditorium. The auditorium was configured with a main floor and mezzanine, originally accommodating approximately 720 seats in the stalls and 560 seats on the mezzanine. Its projection equipment supported 70mm film, an advanced format for the period. The venue’s scale later became a commercial weakness. With more than one thousand seats, the cinema was difficult to operate profitably as audience patterns and the Lima exhibition market changed. Proposals were considered to subdivide the building into smaller screening rooms, but the structure did not readily permit that conversion. The economic crisis of the 1980s accelerated the cinema’s decline. Even during this period, however, the building continued to serve a broader cultural function: artists used it as a concert venue and performance space. During the 1990s, Cine Tauro shifted away from mainstream cinema and began showing adult films. This change altered the public identity of the venue and contributed to its association with controversial activities. It was temporarily closed in 2004. In 2012, the investigative television program Panorama reported on alleged male-prostitution activity taking place at the cinema. The venue was later closed again in 2019, when authorities imposed a fine on the company operating the business. In 2020, during Peru’s COVID-19 confinement measures, police intervened at the premises after a prohibited party was held there. In February 2022, Lima municipal agents carried out another closure following complaints about illegal parties and the detection of both female and male prostitution activity. These interventions reinforced the building’s transition from a once-prominent cinema into a troubled and largely disused commercial property. After its later closures, transnational companies reportedly explored attempts to recover or reuse the property. Proposed cultural and office-rental concepts did not advance because the surrounding environment was considered unsuitable for the planned projects. Cine Tauro is therefore significant both as an example of mid-century modern cinema architecture in Lima and as a case study in the decline, repurposing, and eventual disappearance of a large single-screen urban theater.
History
Cine Tauro originated as a modern cinema project in Lima associated with architect Walter Weberhofer. The initial concept was called Cine Washington, after Washington Street, and was intended to form part of a mixed-use complex containing a ten-story office building and an entertainment center. Construction began in 1957 and concluded in 1959, although the final building was smaller than originally envisioned. Only three commercial floors and a basement were completed. The cinema opened on April 5, 1960, with Pillow Talk, a Hollywood romantic comedy starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. In its early years, the venue was among Lima’s most modern and popular cinemas. Its large auditorium, seating more than one thousand people across the main floor and mezzanine, and its ability to project 70mm films gave it a substantial competitive profile in the city’s exhibition market. The building’s architecture was a major part of its identity. A façade with large windows faced a triangular public space at the intersection of Washington and Delgado streets. The neon Cine Tauro sign became a recognizable urban feature. The interior included a covered entrance hall, oval columns, a box-office area, and a circulation system connecting the principal seating level with the mezzanine through a curved staircase. The auditorium provided about 720 seats on the ground floor and 560 on the mezzanine. The cinema’s large capacity eventually created operating difficulties. A venue of this size became difficult to fill and maintain profitably, leading to proposals to divide it into smaller rooms. Those proposals were not feasible because of the building’s configuration. The economic crisis that affected Peru during the 1980s further weakened the business. Despite the decline in film exhibition, the property remained useful as a concert hall and was used by contemporary artists for live events. In the 1990s, Cine Tauro changed its programming model and began exhibiting pornographic films. The shift marked a sharp departure from its earlier status as a mainstream and technologically modern cinema. The venue was temporarily closed in 2004. Public controversy intensified after the television program Panorama broadcast an investigative report in 2012 concerning male prostitution activity at the premises. The authorities took further action in 2019, when the cinema was closed and the company operating it was fined. In 2020, police intervened after a prohibited party was held there during pandemic confinement restrictions. In February 2022, Lima municipal personnel closed the venue once more following complaints about illegal parties and the detection of prostitution activity involving both women and men. Later efforts to recover the property reportedly involved transnational companies and included proposals for cultural use or office rentals. Those plans did not become established, in part because the surrounding environment was considered unsuitable for the proposed projects. Cine Tauro’s history consequently spans postwar cinema modernization, the difficulties of maintaining a very large single-screen venue, cultural reuse during economic decline, adult-film exhibition, regulatory controversy, and eventual closure.
- 2022
Municipal closure
[1]The Municipality of Lima closes the premises after complaints about illegal parties and detection of prostitution activity.
- 2020
Pandemic-era police intervention
[1]Police intervene after a party prohibited under COVID-19 confinement rules is held at the property.
- 2019
Closure and fine
[1]Authorities close the premises and fine the operating company.
- 2012
Television investigation
[1]Panorama airs a report concerning male prostitution activity associated with the venue.
- 2004
Temporary closure
[1]The cinema is temporarily closed.
- 1990
Programming shifts to adult films
[1]During the 1990s, the venue becomes an adult-film exhibition hall.
- 1980
Economic decline
[1]The Peruvian economic crisis contributes to the venue’s decline, while artists also use it as a concert hall.
- 1960
Public opening
[1]Cine Tauro opens on April 5 with a screening of Pillow Talk.
- 1959
Building completed
[1]The cinema building is completed, although the original ten-story office component is not realized.
- 1957
Construction begins
[1]Construction starts on the project initially known as Cine Washington, designed as part of a larger mixed-use development.
Products and positioning
Originally positioned as a modern, high-capacity cinema and entertainment venue in Lima; later repositioned informally as an adult-film theater before becoming a repeatedly closed and defunct property.
Cinema · 1960
Mainstream cinema exhibition
Cine Tauro originally operated as a large urban movie theater showing commercial films. Its opening program was Pillow Talk, and the venue was considered one of Lima’s modern and popular cinemas during its first two decades. The building’s scale, central location, and large auditorium supported high-volume film exhibition.
Cinema technology · 1960
70mm film projection
The cinema’s projection system supported 70mm films, reflecting the venue’s original positioning as a technologically advanced, premium-scale theater. The format was suited to large-screen presentation and helped distinguish the auditorium in Lima’s mid-century cinema market.
Live entertainment
Concert and live-event venue
As film exhibition weakened, Cine Tauro was also used as a concert hall. Artists of the period made use of the large auditorium, allowing the property to retain a cultural and entertainment role during the cinema’s decline in the 1980s.
Adult entertainment · 1990
Adult-film exhibition
Beginning in the 1990s, the venue became associated with the exhibition of pornographic films. This programming shift continued until later closures and substantially changed the public perception and regulatory profile of the property.
Controversies
2022
Closure following complaints and prostitution detection
Municipal authorities closed the property after complaints about illegal parties and detection of prostitution activity involving women and men.
2020
Party held during COVID-19 confinement
Police intervened after a party was held at the premises in violation of pandemic confinement restrictions.
2012
Panorama prostitution investigation
Panorama broadcast an investigative report about male prostitution activity taking place at Cine Tauro.
Brand decisions
2022
Municipal closure after renewed complaintsOtherBackground
Complaints concerned illegal parties, and municipal agents detected prostitution activity at the premises.
Action taken
The Municipality of Lima carried out another closure of Cine Tauro.
Aftermath
Subsequent cultural and office-reuse concepts did not become established, and the former cinema remained defunct.
1990
Shift to adult-film exhibitionStrategyBackground
The large single-screen cinema had become difficult to operate profitably, and Lima’s economic crisis had weakened its earlier business model.
Action taken
The venue changed its programming focus and began showing adult films.
Aftermath
The change kept the venue operating for a period but led to a different public identity and later regulatory controversies.
Sources1 sources
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