George Cinema

The George Cinema is a former Art Deco cinema on Bath Street in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland. The building opened on 30 March 1939 as the County Cinema, designed by architect Thomas Bowhill Gibson, who was also responsible for the Dominion Cinema in Morningside, Edinburgh. The promoters were Messrs Scott Paulo & Company. The cinema cost £20,000 and originally seated 1,600 people, featuring a saucer-shaped layout, Western Electric Mirrophonic sound and a Holophone lighting system. In the 1950s the cinema was purchased by George Palmer, owner of the Associated G.P. Cinemas circuit, and was refurbished. It reopened in November 1954 as The George Cinema, named after its owner, and began screening foreign films as part of the Edinburgh International Festival that year. On reopening, The George was the first cinema in the east of Scotland to use four-track stereophonic sound with a wide screen, a system requiring 32 loudspeakers, 16 of them behind the screen. The cinema closed in 1974 and was converted into a bingo hall, which involved replacing the outer cladding and removing the central glass brick tower. The bingo hall ceased operation in 2016 and the building became derelict. It is a Category C listed building. Plans to demolish the cinema for 20 privately owned flats were refused by the City of Edinburgh Planning Authority; an appeal was lodged in April 2018, and fresh proposals in early 2021 sought to demolish the auditorium and lobby while retaining the façade and reinstating the glass tower. Local councillors opposed these proposals. A campaign group, Friends of The George, has been established to save the former cinema and restore it as an operational cinema, and in November 2023 an anonymous private benefactor pledged funds to purchase the cinema.

The George Cinema opened as The County Cinema on Thursday, 30 March 1939, at 2.30 pm, with a grand opening ceremony performed by Bailie James Edward. The opening programme featured Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Air Devils. The building was designed by Thomas Bowhill Gibson, who was also responsible for the Dominion Cinema in Morningside, Edinburgh. The promoters were Messrs Scott Paulo & Company. The cinema cost £20,000 and upon opening seated 1,600 people. It featured a wide knee-room, a saucer-shaped layout ensuring no seat was immediately behind another, Western Electric Mirrophonic sound and a Holophone lighting system. In the 1950s the cinema was purchased by George Palmer, owner of the Associated G.P. Cinemas circuit, and underwent refurbishment. It reopened in November 1954 under the new name of The George Cinema, named after its owner, and as part of the Edinburgh International Festival that year began to screen foreign films. When it reopened, The George was the first cinema in the east of Scotland to use four-track stereophonic sound with a wide screen. The system required 32 loudspeakers in the cinema, 16 of which were behind the screen. The George Cinema closed in 1974 and underwent alterations to convert it into a bingo hall, which included the replacement of outer cladding and the removal of the central glass brick tower. The bingo hall ceased operation in 2016 and the building was derelict. 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 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, involving the demolition of the cinema auditorium and lobby, retention of the façade and reinstatement of the glass tower. Local councillors opposed these new proposals. A campaign group, Friends of The George, has been established to save the former cinema from demolition and restore it as an operational cinema. In November 2023, an anonymous private benefactor pledged funds to purchase the cinema. Architecturally, Thomas Bowhill Gibson's County Cinema is a noted example of Art Deco architecture and, in particular, the Streamline Moderne style that had become popular in the 1920s for its association with modern transport, sports and leisure. Gibson had been influenced by the geometrical, Modernist building forms that were emerging in France, the Netherlands and Germany. The County Cinema was designed with bold, geometric towers and a smooth, unornamented façade painted in two shades of blue. Inspired by the emerging night architecture style of the 1930s, Gibson also added a central glass brick tower, which was lit internally with coloured lights, exploiting the new possibilities of electric light.

• 2023

  Anonymous private benefactor pledged funds to purchase the cinema in November 2023.

• 2021

  Fresh redevelopment proposals submitted in early 2021.

• 2018

  Developer appeal lodged in April 2018 against refusal to demolish.

• 2016

  Bingo hall ceased operation; building became derelict.

• 1974

  Closed and converted into a bingo hall.

• 1954

  Reopened in November 1954 as The George Cinema after purchase by George Palmer.

• 1939

  Opened as The County Cinema on 30 March 1939.

Historic Art Deco cinema and Category C listed building in Portobello, Edinburgh; subject of a preservation campaign.

Product categories. Cinema screenings · Foreign film screenings · Bingo hall (former use)

1. 1George Cinema, Portobello - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2George Cinema - Wikidatawikidata.org