A trip to the movies was once the ultimate night out. Watching the latest film to hit the big screen was a highly anticipated event, and going to the flicks on a first date was a teenage rite of passage. But declining audiences, mainly due to competition from modern multiplexes and home streaming, have seen many beloved cinemas close their doors over the decades. Plenty have seen the wrecking ball, others have been converted and some have been left in limbo, gathering dust. Here we look at some abandoned movie theatres in towns and cities around the world.
Opening in downtown Newark in 1915 as a vaudeville theatre, Proctor's Palace was notable for its double-decker design, inspired by the old 'roof garden theatres'. The eight-storey building housed two theatres: the larger ground-floor venue could seat more than 2,000 spectators, while the upper one, known as the Lyceum, took over the top four floors of the building. (It was renovated and renamed the Penthouse Cinema in the 1960s.)
Boarded up, often unnoticed by passers-by and dwarfed by modern buildings, Eden Cinema in Tel Aviv’s newly fashionable Neve Tzedek neighbourhood was the city’s first-ever movie house. It was built in 1914 and swiftly became a vibrant social hub showing silent movies accompanied by an orchestra. It was temporarily closed by the authorities of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War – and though it flourished again in the 1950s and 1960s, it closed for good in 1974.
Port Talbot’s beloved and independently owned Plaza Cinema has Grade II-listed status, but has lain empty and shuttered for more than 20 years. Its first-ever screening was Babes In Arms, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, in April 1940, and the last was Prince of Egypt in 1999: owner Alex Jones told Wales Online that audience members sobbed as the credits rolled for the last time. The cinema was left to fade and fester for two decades, but now plans are afoot to transform the historic venue into a new community hub, including a theatre named after Port Talbot's own Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Behind the graffitied boards at the old Odeon on Clerk Street, there's a decorative foyer and bar with faded but original Art Deco features. This beloved venue in Edinburgh's Southside holds a special place in the heart of many locals (who started a crowdfunding campaign to save it from demolition) and has historical significance. Opening in 1930, it was designed for the Gaumont company by prominent cinema architects WE Trent & JW Jordan with seating for 2,058. Statues adorned its auditorium walls and, at one point, the roof was decorated with little star-like lights.
In 1964, the cinema became the Odeon and started to host live music too, with The Clash, Bay City Rollers and Elton John all gracing its stage. It closed in 2003 when Odeon sold the building to a property developer. Since then, it’s changed ownership a few times and has been designated a Grade A-listed building. Aside from being used as an occasional venue for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the landmark has been left to languish. However, the folks behind the New Victoria project hope to eventually open it as a community space.
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Once a popular venue with families spending a day by the seaside, Portobello's handsome George Cinema has sat empty since 2016. It recently escaped a demolition order, thanks to community action, and various proposals for redevelopment have fallen by the wayside. Opening in 1939 as the County Cinema in Edinburgh's seaside suburb, it had a painted Art Deco façade that was illuminated by a column of changing neon lights. It was later renamed the George and continued to draw filmgoers until 1974 when, like many other small cinemas around the UK, it was converted into a bingo hall before closing completely.
Billed as a “Music Hall and Palace of Varieties”, the Derby Hippodrome opened to a full house on 20 July 1914. The theatre was converted into a cinema in 1930 and its debut screening was Sunnyside Up, starring Janet Gaynor. Films were shown to audiences here for the next 20 years, until live theatre returned to its stage once again in 1950. The likes of Benny Hill, Tommy Cooper, Shirley Bassey, Cliff Richard and Morecambe and Wise all performed here.
The historic theatre shut in 1959 and became a bingo hall in 1962, before closing altogether in 2006. The abandoned building was subject to various arson and vandalism incidents and was partially brought down by a developer in 2007 too. A serious fire later broke out in the beleaguered space in 2015 and, since then, the Grade II-listed structure, which has been on the Theatre at Risk register since 2006, has deteriorated further. However, the Derby Hippodrome Restoration Trust is hoping to transform its mouldering shell back into a beautiful entertainment space.
Much to the local community’s dismay, the Art Deco purpose-built picture house on Plymouth’s Derry's Cross closed its doors for good in February 2019. First opened as the Royal Cinema in 1938, it was re-named ABC in 1958 and was a live music venue, hosting big-name acts like The Beatles, T-Rex, The Rolling Stones and Elton John. It was also a bingo hall at one point. Acquired by Reel Cinemas in 2006, the chain announced it would close due to competition from a 12-screen multiplex nearby. Plans to demolish the empty cinema have been shelved and it's set to become a new leisure venue instead.
First opening under the name Marconi (in reference to the inventor of radio transmissions), this faded beauty in central Bucharest is another example of an Art Deco cinema that's been left to ruin for decades. When the communist regime was established in Romania in 1948, the cinema was renamed the Alexander Popov Cinema, after the Russian physicist, and then finally the Cinema Dacia in the era of communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu. Many of the country’s state-owned cinemas were either sold or abandoned in the years after communism collapsed in 1989.
The lights are well and truly switched off at Al Malaki Cinema, a down-at-heel building in the Derb Sultan neighbourhood of Casablanca. The venue had grand beginnings, though: it was commissioned by King Mohammed V in the 1940s and its name means 'The Royal' in Arabic. It has been closed and left derelict since 2016, used as a storage space or dumping ground by traders in the local market. The historic venue is just one of many cinemas that have closed their doors for good in Morocco, with more joining the list since the pandemic.
Plans to convert the Regal Cinema in Highams Park, East London, into offices appear to have stalled, so the attractive building remains boarded up and empty for now. Originally called the Highams Park Electric Theatre when it opened its doors in 1911, it was designed by the architect WA Lewis – though its striking Art Deco façade and entrance foyer were added later, in 1935, when the cinema was partly rebuilt. A community hub for decades, and always independently operated, the Regal stopped showing films in 1963 and was repurposed for use as a bingo and snooker hall.
This shuttered cinema, which has lain crumbling for 20 years in the northern Italian city of Verona, would likely have faded into memory were it not for a startling find in its basement last year. Construction workers digging at the abandoned cinema unearthed what was later described by archaeologists as a “miniature Pompeii”. The remains of an elaborately frescoed, but fire-damaged, Roman building were found and they've been dated back to the second century.
Opening in 1920 as part of a new generation of Broadway-style theatres, Holyoke’s grand, century-old venue was named for the outcome of the First World War. Located at 81-89 Suffolk Street, the lavish space had 1,600 seats and offered its audience a combined bill of a silent film and stage show, complete with live music from an orchestra. But it closed in 1979 and was left to decay. The historic landmark was purchased by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) in 2009 and efforts to restore the theatre to its former glory are ongoing.
Despite the boarded-up doors and foliage growing out of its ornate and once-colourful façade, the large Majestic Theater on East St Louis’ Collinsville Avenue still has a certain splendour about it. The grandiose movie theatre dates back to 1928, when it was built on the site of a previous 20th-century entertainment venue that had burnt down.
Originally a vaudeville venue, the Majestic was one of the first theatres in the area to show talking motion pictures, as a sound system was installed less than a year into operations. But despite the theatre's 'majestic' looks, declining ticket sales and high operating costs led to its decline and the doors were locked in the 1960s. Some renovations occurred in the 1970s and the imposing building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It was saved from the wrecking ball, but restoration plans are yet to revive the worn-down beauty.
Opened in 1922, the ambitious and ornate Poli Palace was commissioned by theatre magnate Sylvester Z. Poli, and was designed by architect Thomas W Lamb, famed for his grand venues. The interior was notable for its exquisite frescos, ornate plasterwork and chandeliers. It was the largest theatre in Connecticut and acclaimed actress Mae West even trod its boards in 1927. At first, vaudeville shows and silent films were on the bill, until “talkies” (motion pictures with sound) brought forward-thinking crowds into the venue. It was sold to the Loew’s theatre chain in 1934 and its name was changed to Loew’s Poli and eventually the Loew’s Palace Theatre.
The vast, ground-breaking complex on the port city’s Main Street also housed a second, smaller theatre, the Majestic (pictured), which opened two months later, along with the 109-room Savoy Hotel. The Loew’s Corporation sold the building to a local lawyer in 1964, after the venue declined in popularity, and it ultimately closed for good in the mid-Seventies. Since then, the disused venue (still with many original, if crumbling, features intact) has opened for the occasional tour and ghost hunt, and it's also been used as a film set and for storage by a local theatre company. It's been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979, so there are hopes the building will eventually be restored.
With its sweeping staircase and extravagant neo-Moorish-style theatre, the Aegidium in Brussels is one architectural gem set to be saved from fading into history. First opening in 1906 as a show hall, it was called the Diamant Palace; it was later named the Panthéon-Palace and became one of the city's most popular dance halls. Once again renamed by a new owner, in 1929, the venue became the Aegidium, after the patron saint of the Saint-Gilles district where it's located. And after modernisations and renovations, the theatre first started showing films in 1933.
On the outside, the venue looks relatively modest, but inside its extensive interiors are a striking mix of Art Nouveau and Art Deco elements. The beautiful Moorish-style theatre, designed by architect Léon Denis, is its centrepiece. Due to declining ticket sales, the cinema closed in 1979: it was used as a day centre for a few years, before closing for good in 1985, as the costly renovations it needed couldn't be funded. Abandoned for many years, it now has a new owner and some restorations have been made to the listed building.
Many British seaside towns once boasted a cinema, built during their heyday in the 1930s and 1940s to entertain holidaymakers. But many closed down decades later as their popularity declined, some going on to be used as deckchair storage or as bingo halls. Regent Cinema on Deal's seafront is one such place. It first opened as an iron-and-glass pavilion in 1928 and was used for performances by military bands; its classic Art Deco cinema frontage was added in 1933. It closed in 1963 and became a bingo hall until 2009 and is now showing serious signs of neglect – water damage, a collapsed roof, pigeon infestation and trespassers have all taken their toll. A campaign to reopen the Regent is ongoing.
With a distinctive colourful façade and marquee, the Ritz Theatre opened as a 700-seat motion picture house in December 1935 on Natchez’s North Commerce Street. The cinema had various owners over the years, until it stopped screening films altogether in the 1960s and was used mostly for storage. After its roof collapsed in 2000, the City of Natchez ordered the owners to make the property safe or demolish it. However, in 2002, two local businessmen purchased The Ritz and donated it to the Historic Natchez Foundation. In turn, it has recently found new owners who promise to restore the old landmark.
With its striking Egyptian Revival-style design, the long-abandoned Empress Theatre remains an arresting sight on Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district. It dates to 1927, when vaudeville performances were all the rage, and its architect, Joseph-Alcide Chaussé, was inspired by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. Renamed the Royal Follies in 1962, it became a café-theatre before being repurposed into a two-tiered cinema in the early Seventies. In 1988, it was bought by the chain Famous Players and screened blockbuster films until a fire devastated its interior in 1992. It closed and has been deserted since. Consultations are ongoing to bring the local landmark back from the brink.
Like many countries, Australia’s cinema industry has declined in recent decades. A beloved cultural landmark in the coastal city Newcastle, the Tower Cinema closed in 2018. The three-screen venue was constructed in 1976 for Great Union Theatres and promptly drew in the crowds, screening some of the era’s biggest blockbusters including Jaws and Picnic at Hanging Rock. After a decade of steady decline and despite community uproar, Event Cinemas rolled the credits for the last time in December 2018 and it has sat empty since.