The former Academy Cinema on Pearse Street, Dublin, previously the Antient Concert Rooms, which has been derelict for more than 30 years, is to be reopened next month.
The building, which has associations with WB Yeats, James Joyce and John McCormack, among others, was almost destroyed by fire in 1975, but has now been restored to its original 1820s condition.
The building has been completely renovated and extended, but is to be reopened as an office complex, rather than as a theatre or cinema.
The public will, however, have access to the foyer and a viewing platform for the restored auditorium.
The work of an unknown architect, the building was constructed in 1824 for the Dublin Oil and Gas Company, established to extract gas from fish oil.
The company went bankrupt in just over 10 years and in 1842 the site was acquired by the Society of Antient Concerts which adapted the interior into a 800-seat auditorium, for use for musical and theatrical events and public meetings.
In the late 1890s the building became the home of the Irish Literary Theatre before the establishment of the Abbey Theatre, and in 1899 Yeats staged The Countess Cathleen at the concert rooms, despite widespread public protest. Also in 1899 the building was the venue for an unusual public auction in which the Lakes of Killarney with 14,000 surrounding acres were offered for sale. The lot was withdrawn after it failed to attract any bids over £50,000.
In 1904 young singers James Joyce and John McCormack competed in a feis ceoil, which McCormack won.
The Antient Concert Rooms also feature in Joyce's Dubliners and in Ulysses.
By the 1920s the concert rooms had begun to show films, but was not completely given over to cinema until 1956 when it became the Academy Cinema.
Despite campaigns over the years to restore the building as a performance space, owner Panoramic Cinemas (now Omniplex Holdings) published plans to redevelop the building as offices in 2001. However, there will be limited public access to the front of the building.
Damien Cassidy, a trustee of the concert rooms, said a "wonderful job" had been done on the restoration.
"It's an absolutely beautiful restoration of a building that is steeped in history.
"In terms of the history of theatre and the arts, it's on a par in importance with the GPO," he said.
