The Electric: One of England's oldest cinemas set to reopen
- Published
The Electric showed its first film, a silent one, in 1909
One of England's oldest cinemas, shut since the start of the pandemic, has a new owner who aims to reopen the venue by Christmas.
At 112 years old, Birmingham's art deco Electric Cinema is believed to be the oldest working cinema in the UK.
New owner Kevin Markwick, who runs an independent cinema in East Sussex, said he was excited about its future.
He was overwhelmed "by the tsunami of Twitter love" he received after revealing his plans, he said.
"It's good to know it has a special place in people's hearts," Mr Markwick said.
"I think we can do really good things here... I want to make it the go-to place for film lovers."
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The self-confessed film lover also runs the 104-year-old Picture House Cinema in Uckfield which he said was doing really well, helped by taking on a restaurant over the road.
"So I was looking around for a new project and I was at FrightFest in Leicester Square a couple of months ago where I was introduced to Tom [Lawes, previous owner] who said he was looking to sell," he said.
Mr Markwick said he took possession of the keys on Monday and was now in Birmingham getting to know the city, he said.
"I'm now just looking at the infrastructure - getting the heating going and the projectors," he said.
"I want to make it cosy and warm again then will think about a programme, but my aim is to be open in three to four weeks' time for Christmas.
"It's about winning people's trust and showing the new things we can do."
The cinema, built in a converted taxi rank in Station Street, showed its first film on 27 December 1909.
It showed adult movies in the 70s and moved to mainstream and art house films before closing in March 2020.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, external, Twitter, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk, external