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The Electric is a cinema in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year. It was the first cinema in Birmingham, and was the oldest working cinema in the country until its closure on 29 February 2024. The Electric had two screens, both able to show digitally-shot films and one also able to show films in 35 mm.
In the foyer of the Hilton Doubletree Hotel, LIncoln on my way to their Electric Bar and Restaurant to be treated to lunch.
Welcome back to The Electric Cinema.
It has reopened on Station Street in Birmingham after being closed since the beginning of the pandemic, and now has a new owner.
It was closed for roughly 22 months.
...en un lugar de La Mancha de cuyo nombre no consigo acordarme, con el trigo recién cosechado
7 años después... www.flickr.com/photos/91516275@N05/8667737395/in/photostr...
Welcome to The Electric.
I'd earlier walked down here on Station Street opposite Birmingham New Street Station.
After abandoning an idea to walk to the Custard Factory (Birmingham City FC fans were walking to St Andrew's for the match vs West Bromwich Albion).
So popped up Moor Street Car Park for some views, then left via Selfridges, missed the 50, and caught a 35 towards Moseley.
The sun reflecting of the metal clad New Street Station opposite gives the Electric Cinema in Birmingham, UK an electricifying finish.
#499
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Station Street, Birmingham; Britain's oldest working cinema, which opened in 1909, though it went through a number of different incarnations over the years, before being restored fairly recently.
I've been thinking about taking Station Street for a while, but haven't got around to doing it. So while I was going around Birmingham New Street Station, I took these shots from Queens Drive, up above it (where the taxis are waiting).
On the left of Station Street is the Comfort Inn. Below is the Station Bar. Not so long ago it was a Holiday Inn Express.
It was built as the Market Hotel on the corner of Dudley Street and Station Street in 1883 by Plevins & Norrington. Warm orange brick with sandstone dressings and terracotta panels, a mixture of big bays and little curly pediments. Built as part-hotel, part-warehouse for H. E. Jordan, pram maker: his initials and Plevin's appear on terracotta plaques.
Above passage from Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham by Andy Foster.
Also taken up from Queens Drive is The Old REP Theatre on Station Street.
According to Pevsner, The Old Rep Theatre is the best building on Station Street. It dates from 1912 - 13 by S N Cooke (the current theatre is on Broad Street in Centenary Square). Austere monumental-classic, fashionable for theatres cicra 1910. Giant Ionic pilasters, delicately detailed disappear into the tower-like end bays. Windows with heavy architraves and discs; Greek key and guilloche friezes. Semi-octagonal dormer like a lookout. Foyer and stairs have a heavy dado in brown and black marble contrasted with a delicate Doric entablature. Small auditorium with an extremely steep rake, because of the shallow site. Concave balcony with more Greek key on the soffit. Doric proscenium, austere and dramatic, with a huge frieze.
From Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham by Andy Foster.
On the right is The Electric, one of the oldest cinema buildings in the UK
The Electric Cinema dates from 1909 by Bertie Crewe, rebuilt 1936 - 37 by Cecil E M Fillmore. Refronted in 1981 - 82 and again in 2004. Inside a 1937 staircase.
Again details from Pevsner.
Between The Old Rep and The Electric is a former wine merchant, now a restaurant if 1890 - 91 by J P Sharp & Co. A commerical mixture of pilasters, basket arches and upcurving Baroque cornice.
I think that it is a Chinese Restaurant.
Behind is the Beetham Tower and Centre City Tower.
Poster for X-Men: Days of Future Past at the Electric Cinema on Station Street in Birmingham. Opposite New Street Station redevelopment work.
It is the UK's Oldest Cinema!
I saw it at Broadway Plaza - it is amazing, and changes the timeline for the better!
The Electric, the oldest working cinema in the UK, located on Station Street in the city centre of Birmingham, West Midlands.
It opened in 1909 predating its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London, by around two months. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone several name changes since its opening but returned as The Electric in October 1993. The cinema closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the owner making most of its staff redundant. In January 2022 it the cinema reopened under new ownership.
The architectural plans were designed by leading theatre architect of the time, Bertie Crewe which are now a part of the Library of Birmingham's archives and collections.
Excerpts from newspapers at the time:
"There has been a further addition to the number of places of amusement in Birmingham. Electric Theatre has taken a commodious shop in Station-Street, right in the centre of the city, and the interior has been transformed into a cosy and attractive entertainment hall with a capacity of 376, in red plush tip-up seats. The machines here are also of the latest Edison type, and brilliantly steady pictures are shown at a throw of about 55 ft. The operating room is similarly equipped and is one of the finest in the city."
"The pictures displayed, some of which are in colours, are of an historical, dramatic, educational, as well as of a humorous character, and the entertainment is proving a decided attraction with young and old alike. Pictures showing this week are To Save Her Soul, Piedmont, The Shell, A Box of Chocolates, The Cabbage, Making Plate Glass, A Workman’s Revenge, and That Skating Carnival, with a complete change on Thursday. Mr. George Putnam, is the energetic manager, and Mr. A. Hart chief man at the wheel."
"It is estimated that upwards of two thousand persons paid for admission on the opening day, and from two o’clock until eleven there is a constant stream of fresh arrivals. Mr Putnam is arranging for a constant change of programme, and all the latest and most interesting pictures will be displayed from time to time."
Information Source:
Lucky BBQ - Station Street, Birmingham.
I think this Chinese Restaurant has had a makeover and a new facade.
Local taxis seem to be parking down here, although I think it's double yellow lines.
The actual taxi rank is up above on what was Queen's Drive at Birmingham New Street Station.
But might cost them quite a bit to use that!
It used to be Han's Kitchen.
Next to The Electric Cinema.
Striking Notting Hill cinema. Opened 1910, and only briefly out of use in the 1990s.
Address: 191 Portobello Road.
Owner: (website).
Links:
Jhansi WDG-3A # 13181 goes over the turnouts as it heads towards its homeshed, meanwhile LGD WAP-4 # 22355 was taking well deserved rest outside theElectric trip shed at Jhansi Junction
A sunny April Sunday afternoon in Birmingham city centre.
Station Street, Birmingham. From what was Queens Drive at Birmingham New Street Station.
The former pub that was The Crown at the corner of Station Street and Hill Street. Not too sure of it's fate. The site behind might get a Japanese hotel built there. Hopefully they will retain the pub?
To the left: Shaftesbury House, Han Dynasty, Tasty Restaurant, Majestic Snooker Club, Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant and The Electric Cinema.
The Electric Cinema, 47-49 Station Street in the city centre of Birmingham in the West Midlands.
It opened in 1909, showing its first silent film on the 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. It predates its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London, by around two months. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as the Electric in October 1993.
In the 1920s, the cinema changed its name to The Select, showing a programme of silent movies. In the 1930s, tastes changed and in 1931 the cinema became an amusement arcade. In 1936 the cinema was bought by local entrepreneur Joseph Cohen. It was rebuilt by architect Cecil Filmore and reopened as the Tatler News Theatre, the second in the city.
After World War II, with television becoming increasingly popular, attendance at news theatres declined. In the 1950s, the cinema changed its focus and became the Jacey Cartoon Theatre. This did not last for long and in the 1960s, it became the Jacey Film Theatre, mainly showing a programme of art house and continental pictures.
For much of the 1970s, the cinema was a shadow of its former-self, largely showing pornographic films. The early 1980s saw a revival, with the cinema taken over by Lord Grade's "Classic" chain and split into two screens. This incarnation did not last for long and in the mid-1980s it became the Tivoli. In 1993 it was bought by Bill Heine and managed by Steven Metcalf. They also reverted it to being called the Electric.
A contemporary work of art called Thatcher's Children by artist John Buckley was installed in the windows on the front of the building, with the intent to shock and attract publicity to the opening of an art cinema in Birmingham.
The Electric closed, however, on 12 December 2003. The cinema was put up for sale and was quickly purchased by a local entrepreneur, Tom Lawes. After a £250,000 refit and renovation, the cinema reopened on 17 December 2004. The building was restored to its original 1930s Art Deco look from photographs taken during that period; there being no plans of the earlier design surviving.
In recognition of its centenary in December 2009, local MPs Tom Watson, Khalid Mahmood and Richard Burden raised a motion in the House of Commons stating that the House:
"recognises the value of independent cinemas to the cultural and social life of local communities; celebrates the continued success of Britain's oldest working cinema, The Electric in Birmingham; notes that on 2 December 2009 a centenary celebration is taking place for the cinema that started life as a silent movie theatre, became a news theatre during the Second World War and succumbed to dereliction in 2003."
The Electric Cinema, 47-49 Station Street in the city centre of Birmingham in the West Midlands.
It opened in 1909, showing its first silent film on the 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. It predates its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London, by around two months. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as the Electric in October 1993.
In the 1920s, the cinema changed its name to The Select, showing a programme of silent movies. In the 1930s, tastes changed and in 1931 the cinema became an amusement arcade. In 1936 the cinema was bought by local entrepreneur Joseph Cohen. It was rebuilt by architect Cecil Filmore and reopened as the Tatler News Theatre, the second in the city.
After World War II, with television becoming increasingly popular, attendance at news theatres declined. In the 1950s, the cinema changed its focus and became the Jacey Cartoon Theatre. This did not last for long and in the 1960s, it became the Jacey Film Theatre, mainly showing a programme of art house and continental pictures.
For much of the 1970s, the cinema was a shadow of its former-self, largely showing pornographic films. The early 1980s saw a revival, with the cinema taken over by Lord Grade's "Classic" chain and split into two screens. This incarnation did not last for long and in the mid-1980s it became the Tivoli. In 1993 it was bought by Bill Heine and managed by Steven Metcalf. They also reverted it to being called the Electric.
A contemporary work of art called Thatcher's Children by artist John Buckley was installed in the windows on the front of the building, with the intent to shock and attract publicity to the opening of an art cinema in Birmingham.
The Electric closed, however, on 12 December 2003. The cinema was put up for sale and was quickly purchased by a local entrepreneur, Tom Lawes. After a £250,000 refit and renovation, the cinema reopened on 17 December 2004. The building was restored to its original 1930s Art Deco look from photographs taken during that period; there being no plans of the earlier design surviving.
In recognition of its centenary in December 2009, local MPs Tom Watson, Khalid Mahmood and Richard Burden raised a motion in the House of Commons stating that the House:
"recognises the value of independent cinemas to the cultural and social life of local communities; celebrates the continued success of Britain's oldest working cinema, The Electric in Birmingham; notes that on 2 December 2009 a centenary celebration is taking place for the cinema that started life as a silent movie theatre, became a news theatre during the Second World War and succumbed to dereliction in 2003."
New Indian Restaurant & Takeaway opening soon on Station Street in Birmingham opposite the new Birmingham New Street Station.
Between The Old REP and the Electric Cinema.
Noodle Station and Chicken Express
Tarana
New Happy Gathering
A Brumtography meet at The Electric Cinema. We went in both screens, down the basement, and into the old projection room.
The Electric is a cinema and sound recording facility in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. It predates its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London, by around two months. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as the Electric in October 1993.
Uncut Gems - the view from near the taxi rank at Birmingham New Street Station, which used to be Queens Drive before the 2010 - 2015 redevelopment.
A Brumtography meet at The Electric Cinema. We went in both screens, down the basement, and into the old projection room.
The Electric is a cinema and sound recording facility in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. It predates its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London, by around two months. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as the Electric in October 1993.
Main foyer
Jurassic Park art.
Life Finds a Way
Art by Milan Topalović
Last night, a Biblical downpour in Brixton and two hours of the excellent Swans cacophony.
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Buildings opposite New Street Station on Station Street.
Finally got shots of the Chinese Restaurants on Station Street.
Various chinese restaurants on Station Street, Birmingham.
Also the Electric Cinema.
Station Street, Birmingham; Britain's oldest working cinema, which opened in 1909, though it went through a number of different incarnations over the years, before being restored fairly recently.
At Birmingham New Street Station. What was Queens Drive has been finished. Looks ready for taxis to go down here.
Station Street seen from what was Queens Drive again, first time in 5 years!
The path beyond here is blocked off, so again had to enter the station and exit via the Southside Steps.
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New frontages for Chinese restaurants on Station Street in Birmingham, see above from Birmingham New Street Station.
Han's Kitchen
To the right of the Electric Cinema.
The Bullring Link Bridge is now being called Link Street. Many shops have gone, and all these hoardings have gone up.
Maybe to make it more linked to Grand Central!
At Birmingham New Street Station. What was Queens Drive has been finished. Looks ready for taxis to go down here.
I've been thinking about taking Station Street for a while, but haven't got around to doing it. So while I was going around Birmingham New Street Station, I took these shots from Queens Drive, up above it (where the taxis are waiting).
On the right is The Electric, one of the oldest cinema buildings in the UK
The Electric Cinema dates from 1909 by Bertie Crewe, rebuilt 1936 - 37 by Cecil E M Fillmore. Refronted in 1981 - 82 and again in 2004. Inside a 1937 staircase.
Again details from Pevsner.
Zoom in on the sign of The Electric from Queens Drive.
I've been thinking about taking Station Street for a while, but haven't got around to doing it. So while I was going around Birmingham New Street Station, I took these shots from Queens Drive, up above it (where the taxis are waiting).
On the right is The Electric, one of the oldest cinema buildings in the UK
The Electric Cinema dates from 1909 by Bertie Crewe, rebuilt 1936 - 37 by Cecil E M Fillmore. Refronted in 1981 - 82 and again in 2004. Inside a 1937 staircase.
Again details from Pevsner.
At Birmingham New Street Station. What was Queens Drive has been finished. Looks ready for taxis to go down here.
At Birmingham New Street Station. What was Queens Drive has been finished. Looks ready for taxis to go down here.
Station Street seen from what was Queens Drive again, first time in 5 years!
Comfort Inn, The Old Rep, The Electric.
Centre City Tower, Beetham Tower and The Sentinels.
A sunny April Sunday afternoon in Birmingham city centre.
Station Street, Birmingham. From what was Queens Drive at Birmingham New Street Station.
The Electric - Flatpack Festival
A Brumtography meet at The Electric Cinema. We went in both screens, down the basement, and into the old projection room.
The Electric is a cinema and sound recording facility in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. It predates its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London, by around two months. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as the Electric in October 1993.
Stairs to the basement. Where you would find lots of reels of of films down there.
Breakfast at Tiffany's poster at the bottom. Starring the late Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993).
The Electric - I Am Groot.
Seen from Station Street opposite Birmingham New Street Station.
I saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at Odeon Broadway Plaza and it was awesome!