Kino Edison in Karlovac might be getting a makeover.
The cinema known as Kino Edison that closed in 2007 after a long period of not making a profit is going back into business, reports lokalni.hr on May 3rd 2017.
The building housing the cinema used to be privately owned by the company Royal in the 90s. After the company declared bankruptcy, the City of Karlovac bought the building at auction in 2016 for 1.8 million kuna, and is now planning to apply for EU funding in order to procure 21.3 million kuna needed for the renovation project.
The cinema was built in 1920 by the architects Bauer and Schon specifically for the purpose of screening films, and used to be the largest cinema in Croatia with a seating capacity of 640. Apart from Kino Edison, Karlovac was home to two other well-known cinemas, Luxor and Banija. Nowadays, the locals don’t have a film venue and the only available screenings are organised by Kino klub, an organisation trying to keep the film culture in the city alive.
Seeing that the building is listed in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia, the City Council hopes they’ll be able to procure the funds after they turn in their proposal at the European project “Cultural Heritage as a Factor in Tourism”.
The adaptation projects includes one large screening hall with a seating capacity of 218 and a smaller hall with 50 seats. If all goes according to plan, the cinema atrium will house a themed library, a souvenir shop and a bar, while an exhibition of vintage movie projectors will be put on display on the first floor. The building will also include a conference hall on the top floor.
