The phoenix rises, again

8__Arts Picturehouse

The phoenix rises, again

In 1997 the curtain finally fell at the ABC Cinema, then the name for the magnificent Regal picture palace, which had first opened its doors in 1937. Competition from the new Warner multiplex cinema in the Grafton Centre had taken its inevitable toll.

Cambridge had always been rich in cinemas, but the Regal remained the biggest and the best, showing the latest films before any of the others. When major releases came out, queues would build up early and snake around the front, right down the side passageway to the back of the cinema. From the 1950s it was also the venue for a string of rock and pop acts that included Cliff Richard, Billy Fury and a band that was still relatively unknown – the Beatles.

Somewhat more modest in scale, the original Arts Cinema in Market Passage opened in the 1930s as the Cosmo. Loved dearly by its countless fans, it had many quirks and faults: smelly drains, poor heating, no disabled access, noise from outside during particularly gripping scenes and – perhaps more critically – no bar. Its closure in 1999 was greeted with howls of protest, and promises to open a bigger and better cinema back on the old Regal site were met with scepticism.

But the critics were proved wrong. The site was acquired by pub chain J. D. Wetherspoon, who spent £1.8 million converting part of the former cinema into a pub. Up above, on the site of the old cinema’s restaurant, the Arts Picturehouse was born. With three screens, comfortable seating for 500 and an attractive 1930s-style bar area, the cinema became an immediate success. Art house films, and live screenings of opera and ballet, appear happily alongside more mainstream offerings. State-of-the art projection equipment ensures the best possible experience: there are fewer than 30 cinemas in the UK with 70-millimetre projection capability, and the Arts Picturehouse is proud to be one of them.

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Address 38 – 39 St Andrew’s Street, CB2 3AR, +44 (0)871 902 5720, www.picturehouses.com | Getting there Citi 1, 2 or 3 to Emmanuel Street; Grand Arcade car park | Hours Daily; see website for show times | Tip Take the glass-backed lift to the top fl oor in the nearby John Lewis department store for a delightfully revealing, if brief, view over Emmanuel College.