New Life for York’s Historic Cinema

Cinema buffs in York will be pleased to know that an independent cinema chain has bought the city’s historic picture house. The purchase of the cinema paves the way for the cinema to undergo a major refurbishment programme, which is expected to get underway later this year.

Since the former Odeon cinema on Blossom Street closed its doors to customers in August 2006, the art deco building has remained boarded up. The Odeon decided to shut down the picture house, despite a petition of 13,000 asking for the building to stay open.

After its closure, there was little hope of the historic building ever reopening as a cinema. However, last summer, Reel Cinema (UK) Ltd, an independent cinema chain, revealed that it was keen to buy the picture house and restore the iconic building to its former glory.

Although Reel Cinema planned to reopen the cinema during last year's summer holidays, it soon emerged that the building was in such a bad condition, it would be unable to open until the revamp was completed.

However, now Reel Cinema has finalised the purchase of the property, which was thought to cost around £650,000, it means that the company can begin talks with organisations such as the City of York Council and English Heritage to discuss the best way to restore and refurbish the building.

Kailash Suri, managing director of Reel Cinema, said that it was possible that the cinema could reopen some time during 2008. He has also stated that plans for the cinema’s refurbishment might involve splitting the three-screen cinema into a five-screen cinema complex. He said that his company didn’t just want to provide the people of York with a cinema, but hoped to give them a full "cinema-going experience."

Source:

York Press

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