Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen

Belmont Filmhouse is an arts cinema on Belmont Street, Aberdeen, Scotland which shows a mixture of films that generally would not be shown in a chain cinema and mainstream films. The cinema is the property of Aberdeen City Council, and it is run by the Centre for the Moving Image.

Entrance to Belmont Cinema in 2019.

History

The building was constructed in 1896 as a trades hall to a design by architects, Alexander Ellis and Robert Gordon Wilson.[1] The first film was shown on the premises in 1898, and featured footage of Queen Victoria at Balmoral Castle, establishing a tradition of hosting visiting cinema shows. In 1910, the Trades Hall was converted into a permanent cinema called the Coliseum. It was refurbished and reopened as the New Kinema in 1921.[2]

After another refurbishment in 1935, it was renamed the Belmont Cinema. It closed in 1953, and the building was converted into a warehouse. It reopened under lease to Picturehouse Cinemas as the Belmont Picturehouse in September 2000, after a major refurbishment by Aberdeen City Council with assistance from the National Lottery and Scottish Screen.

After some turmoil and uncertainty, the lease for exploitation on the Belmont to Picturehouse had been extended in April 2011 for a further ten years.[3] However, with the purchase of Picturehouse Cinemas by Cineworld,[2] the company were forced to sell the Belmont due to a ruling by the Competition Commission that it had created unfair competition in the city.[2] In April 2014, Centre for the Moving Image took over the lease and renamed the premises Belmont Filmhouse as a sister cinema to the Edinburgh Filmhouse.

Belmont Filmhouse (also called Belmont Picturehouse) is a grade C listed building.[4]

References
  1. "49 AND 51 BELMONT STREET, THE BELMONT PICTUREHOUSE (FORMER TRADES COUNCIL HALL) (LB20132)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. "'Business as usual' for iconic Belmont cinema after takeover". STV News. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  3. "Belmont cinema 'set to be saved'". 26 April 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  4. "49 AND 51 BELMONT STREET, THE BELMONT PICTUREHOUSE (FORMER TRADES COUNCIL HALL) (LB20132)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 17 August 2019.


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