After the lights go down on the silver screen

Ever since James Joyce opened Dublin’s first purpose-built cinema, The Volta on Mary Street in 1909, Ireland has had a love affair with the movies. The history of cinema buildings in Irish cities, towns and suburbs is rich with local folklore. Much-loved suburban cinema theatres in Dublin such as the Prinner (the Princess in Rathmines), the Core (the Inchicore) and the Killer (the Killester Grand) are long gone, but local cinema houses were once the beating hearts of every child and every courting couple’s lives.

And they still have a hold over people, according to George Kearns, a former usher of the Princess and co-author of The A-Z of Old Dublin Cinemas. “When I spoke to people [for the book], some of them started to cry . . . I never encountered such a sense of nostalgia,” he says.

These buildings were sites of drama and action and not just on the silver screen. In the 1950s, while the film Blackboard Jungle was shown at the Star in Crumlin, a riot broke out, resulting in extensive damage. Management at the Phoenix cinema (the Feeno) on Ellis Quay insisted that all their ushers be able to swim, as the audience were prone to throwing them in the Liffey on a boisterous night.

Gráinne Humphreys, director of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, notes that movie-watching has changed profoundly. “I remember double bills at the Cameo. Films that ran for over a year, like Diva and Betty Blue . . . The way people experience cinema is different now, where there can be more of a factory approach rather than performance.”

As the movies have changed, so have the buildings we watch them in. Many beautiful Irish cinema houses – including Michael Scott’s Ritz in Athlone, with its art deco design and carved figures by Louis le Brocquy – have been demolished.

“Historically, cinemas have always been regarded as ‘throw away’ architecture,” says Marc Zimmermann, chairman of the international Cinema Heritage Group and author of The History of Dublin Cinemas. “They don’t command the same respect as stage theatres. No one would ever dare suggest tearing down the Gaiety Theatre.”

Zimmermann established the heritage group six years ago and has been working to preserve cinematic heritage internationally. Both Zimmermann and Humphreys attribute the demise of cinema architecture to its association with mass culture. “Unfortunately, cinema suffers from its own accessibility, because it is a cheaper form of entertainment,” says Humphreys.

The re-use of cinema halls for a new purpose presents commercial and architectural challenges, but it can be done. Internationally, there have been some excellent refurbishments of old cinema buildings, including the Tuschkinski Theatre in Amsterdam and the magical Tampa Theater in Florida, which was donated to the city after a huge public outcry against its threatened demolition. It now presents concerts as well as classic and arthouse films.

In Ireland, a lot of cinemas were given over to a variety of uses, such as bingo halls (the Grand in Cabra and the Gala in Ballyfermot), supermarkets (a Tesco outlet in Drumcondra was once the Drumcondra Grand), furniture stores and ice rinks. Sometimes, this rendered the original building unrecognisable, but there have also been creative re-uses.

“The new use of a space and its original purpose must work together in a way that has meaning,” says conservation architect Gráinne Shaffrey, director of Shaffrey Associates. She believes these buildings should be measured on tangible values such as aesthetics and location, but also intangible ones, such as their place in the collective memory. “Old buildings are important because they offer diversity in the built environment,” she says.

ThenThe Savoy, Broad Street, Waterford

NowThe Book Centre

Probably Ireland’s most striking homage to cinema architecture, the Waterford Book Centre has retained much of the cinematic drama of the building. It first opened its doors in 1937 and was originally known as the Broad Street Cinema. It first screening was Rose-Marie starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

The first night’s takings were donated to the Ballybricken New Church fund. The store still retains a full-size movie screen and is a wonderful re-imagining of a cinema space’s potential for commercial use.

ThenThe Theatre Deluxe, Lower Camden Street, Dublin

NowCamden Deluxe Hotel

This purpose-built cinema house enjoyed several makeovers in its early years. Originally opened in 1912 as a 300-seat venue, it later returned with an impressive 1,200-seat capacity with plush interiors and a marble staircase. According to a local legend, Rita Hayworth and her husband attended a screening of The War Story here in the 1950s. After its closure as a cinema, the venue re-opened its doors as a snooker hall and featured in Alan Parker’s The Commitments. It is now a nightclub, pool hall and hotel.

ThenThe Astoria, Serpentine Avenue, Sandymount

NowSikh Temple

This simple one-screen cinema was also Dublin’s first Sikh temple and has retained much of its original style externally. Opened in 1936, this suburban cinema could hold up to 700 patrons and operated on a Sunday, which was not a regular practice at the time.

The owners also rotated programming three times a week to ensure a high attendance for a one-screen cinema.

It changed its name to the Ritz and later the Oscar, becoming a theatre for live performances until 1985, when it closed and was converted into the existing temple.

Then

The Strand, Fairview, Dublin

NowStrand Apartments

Opened in 1938 by the then lord mayor of Dublin, this deluxe cinema had 500 seats, sizeable by today’s standards. Later upgraded and renamed the New Strand, it survived German bombing in 1941 and a flood in 1954 when the Tolka river burst its banks. The cinema finally closed its doors in 1970 and, after uses as a bingo hall and bowling alley, is now home to the North Strand Apartments with a lovingly restored art deco facade.