The George Cinema is a former

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

cinema on Bath Street in

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The building opened in 1939 as the County Cinema. For many years a

bingo hall Bingo is a game of probability in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers. Bingo, also previously known in the UK as Housey-Housey, ...

, it is a Category C listed building.

History

The Grand Opening Ceremony, performed by Bailie Edward took place on Thursday, 30 March in 1939 at 2.30pm, and the feature film of the opening programme was

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

. The George was the first cinema in the east of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to use the four-track stereophonic sound with a wide screen. The system required 32 loud-speakers in the cinema, 16 of which were behind the screen. The George Cinema was designed by Thomas Bowhill Gibson, also responsible for the

Dominion Cinema The Dominion Cinema is an independent Streamline Moderne cinema located in the Morningside area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was incorporated by William Cameron, on 13 May 1937 when he bought the land in Newbattle Terrace. The cinema was ...

in Morningside,

. The promoters were Messrs Scott Paulo & Company The cost of the cinema was £20,000 and upon opening it seated 1600 people. The cinema featured wide knee-room, saucer shape layout ensuring no seat is immediately behind another, Western Electric Mirrophonic sound and Holophone lighting system. The George, Portobello - Balcony

The George Cinema was to be demolished under a planning application for 20 privately owned flats. The City of Edinburgh Planning Authority refused consent to demolish the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

cinema. An appeal was lodged in April 2018 by the developer, with an inspection to be made by the Reporter on 13 August 2018. Fresh proposals for redevelopment were submitted in early 2021, and these were opposed by local Councillors.

References

External links

Save the George campaign
{{coord, 55.95373, -3.11321, format=dms, type:landmark_region:XX, display=title Cinemas in Edinburgh Portobello, Edinburgh Category C listed buildings in Edinburgh