Palisade [1916-1916]
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Seating capacity: unknown
Address: The source photo places it on the south side of the current YMCA and Salisburg Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. At that time, the site was likely green/open space which enabled the theatre to be set up for night shows.
No Chinese name has been identified in my internet search. One definition of Palisade is a fence of iron railings or wooden stakes fixed in the ground forming an enclosure. A technical translation is 柵欄 but I don't think it would have been a good choice.
Palisade was an open-air cinema. One newspaper article dated July 13, 1916 described it as "a large roofless enclosure with ample provision against any sudden change in the elements." However, I cannot visualize that they would erect wood panel walls which would be costly and unsafe during storm unless well anchored to the ground. Perhaps they had tarps to keep the rain out. As it turned out, as mentioned by Cinema Treasures, it was always at the mercy of weather and was closed on some occasions.
The cinema opened to busines on July 12, 1916 with a band playing numbers selected from several revues. Bands continued to be used after opening day. As no advertisement of the theatre can be found after October 1, 1916, the cinema probably closed on October 1, 1916. The previous day, September 30, it showed "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "My friend from India". The former, in the form of a novel, was a reading assignment early in my high school years.
Source: Cinema Treasures: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/24701
