The Electric, Birmingham facts for kids
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The Electric in 2005
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| Address | 47-49 Station Street Birmingham England |
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| Coordinates | 52°28′36″N 1°53′55″W / 52.4766°N 1.8987°W |
| Owner | Electric Cinemas Limited |
| Current use | |
| Opened | 1909 |
| Closed | 2024 |
The Electric Cinema is a famous movie theater located in Birmingham, England. It first opened its doors on December 27, 1909. This makes it the very first cinema in Birmingham. It was also the oldest working cinema in the entire country for a long time. Sadly, it closed down on February 29, 2024.
The Electric Cinema has two screens. Both screens could show modern digital movies. One screen could also show films using old-style 35 mm film. When it first opened, it was called the Electric Theatre. Over the years, its name changed several times. But in October 1993, it went back to being called The Electric.
The cinema closed in December 2003. A local film director named Tom Lawes bought it. He worked hard to fix it up. He wanted to make it look like it did in the 1930s, with its cool Art Deco style. It reopened in December 2004. The cinema closed again in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened in January 2022 with new owners. As of February 2024, the cinema is closed again.
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History of The Electric Cinema
In the 1920s, the cinema changed its name to the Select. It showed only silent movies back then. These were films without spoken words, only music and sometimes text on screen.
Changes in the 1930s
By the 1930s, people's tastes changed. In 1931, the building became an amusement arcade. This meant it was a place with games and fun activities. In 1936, a local businessman named Joseph Cohen bought the cinema. He had it rebuilt by an architect named Cecil Filmore. It reopened as the Tatler News Theatre. This was the second news theatre in Birmingham. News theatres showed short news films and cartoons.
After World War II
After World War II, television became very popular. This meant fewer people went to news theatres. In the 1950s, the cinema changed again. It became the Jacey Cartoon Theatre, focusing on cartoons. This did not last long. In the 1960s, it became the Jacey Film Theatre. It mainly showed special art house movies and films from Europe.
In the early 1980s, the cinema saw a comeback. A company called "Classic" took it over. They split the cinema into two separate screens. But this version did not last long either. In the mid-1980s, it became the Tivoli. In 1993, Bill Heine bought it. He brought back the name The Electric.
An interesting piece of art was put in the front windows. It was called Thatcher's Children by artist John Buckley. It was meant to get people talking and bring attention to the new art cinema. However, The Electric closed on December 12, 2003.
Restoring and Reopening The Electric
The cinema was put up for sale. It was quickly bought by Tom Lawes, the local businessman. He spent £250,000 to fix up and renovate the cinema. It reopened on December 17, 2004. The building was made to look like its original 1930s Art Deco style. They used old photographs to help, as the original building plans were gone.
Right next to the cinema, just two doors down, is the Old Rep theatre.
