It was once the biggest cinema in Brussels. When it opened in 1913, the Pathé Palace could hold 2,500 people. Designed by the architect Paul Hamesse, it was modelled on old Italian music halls. As well as films, it featured concerts and cabarets.
The cinema was modified over the years to incorporate the latest innovations. But that didn’t save it from bankruptcy in 1973. The landmark building was taken over by developers who converted it into shops, apartments and a car park.
In the late 1990s, a group of cinema enthusiasts tried to relaunch it as an arts cinema, but the plan flopped. A second attempt was made in 2012 by film fans led by the prize-winning Belgian director Luc Dardenne.
It was an ambitious project that took many years. But finally in 2018 the cinema reopened. The interior is now a confusing labyrinth of corridors and stairs leading (eventually) to four screens showing arthouse films.
Some of the original elements from 1913 have miraculously survived, including the beautiful Hamesse Foyer on the first floor and the iconic Pathé cockerel up on the roof.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
