{"id":86138,"date":"2025-05-09T01:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T01:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/86138\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T01:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T01:56:11","slug":"birmingham-cinema-that-survived-luftwaffe-before-becoming-strip-club-listed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/86138\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham cinema that ‘survived Luftwaffe’ before becoming strip club listed"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cinema was the first to show a ‘talkie’ in Birmingham after it opened in 1919\"TheThe old Wildcats club occupied the old cinema(Image: Historic England)<\/p>\n

An old Birmingham cinema that spent years as a strip club and shisha bar has been granted Grade II listed status.<\/p>\n

The Futurist, on John Bright Street, has been listed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), aknowledging that it is of special interest.<\/p>\n

The old cinema, built in 1919, was the first in Birmingham<\/a> to show a ‘talkie’ film after years of silent shows, screening The Singing Fool back in 1929.<\/p>\n

Read more: Birmingham’s Electric Cinema ‘at risk of wrecking ball’ as listed status hopes dashed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more: Old Birmingham attraction says ‘thank you’ after record-breaking weekend<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Historic England, which recommended the building for listing, say that The Futurist is an ‘accomplished example of early cinema architecture’.<\/p>\n

The building, designed back in 1914, has been used as a number of different things in more recent years, including shisha bar Babylon and strip club Wildcats.<\/p>\n

Back in 1940, the old cinema was damaged during the Birmingham Blitz, surviving the Luftwaffe air raid.<\/p>\n

It reopened to the public in 1943 and remains an ‘accomplished example of early cinema architecture’, with its brick, stone and terracotta dressings on the outside still remarkably in tact.<\/p>\n

Arthur Stockwell was the building designer and The Futurist might have opened earlier were plans not delayed by the First World War.<\/p>\n

The grand opening finally took place on July 30, 1919 when DW Griffith’s war drama The Great Love was shown to Brummies on the silver screen.<\/p>\n

In its later life, The Futurist was known as the Cannon Cinema, though it shut to film lovers in September 1991.<\/p>\n

Louise Brennan, Historic England regional director for the Midlands, said: “Given its age, The Futurist still looks fantastic, it has an imposing presence befitting of its pioneering role.<\/p>\n

“It survived attack from the Luftwaffe and the redevelopment of Birmingham and now benefits from the recognition and protection of listed status.”<\/p>\n

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society which campaigns to save outstanding buildings, added: “Over 105 years of history, the Futurist has been a real survivor: From trailblazing early ‘talkies’ to blockbuster favourites, since closing as a cinema it’s been an ‘adult’ nightclub, shisha lounge, and a seafood restaurant.<\/p>\n

“But no matter the times, the value and versatility of 20th century heritage endures.<\/p>\n

“It’s wonderful to see this handsome old gent of a building now recognised with national listing.”<\/p>\n

Back in March, campaigners were left worried when the Electric Cinema – which was the country’s oldest working cinema before it shut in 2024 – was denied listed status<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the reasons given for designation decision, Historic England reported: “The Electric Cinema is not recommended for listing for the following principal reasons.<\/p>\n

“Degree of architectural interest: The building as it survives today is a blend of the many periods of evolution through which it has gone. Though none of these elements survives well enough or is of sufficient quality to merit listing.<\/p>\n

“Degree of historic interest: “While the cinema has some interest as an early example, the historic interest of the building lies primarily at the local rather than national level.”<\/p>\n

The future of the Electric Cinema is still uncertain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cinema was the first to show a ‘talkie’ in Birmingham after it opened in 1919The old Wildcats…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,983,10845,10314,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-86138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city-centre","10":"tag-birmingham-pubs-and-bars","11":"tag-birmingham-restaurants","12":"tag-britain","13":"tag-england","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}