Palace, Protected Art Nouveau movie theater in Pentagon, Brussels
The Palace is an Art Nouveau movie theater featuring plasterwork that imitates natural stone surfaces. Its facade displays bold corner pillars and a jutting bay window along Boulevard Anspach that makes the building stand out from the street.
In 1913 the Pathé company commissioned architect Paul Hamesse, a pupil of Paul Hankar, to convert the building into a "theatrical cinema". The resulting Art Nouveau hall, crowned by Pathé's rooster, held 2,500 spectators, making it Brussels' largest. In the 1950s architect Rie Haan demolished most of the Italian-style auditoriums; after decades as shops and a squat, it reopened on 28 February 2018 as Cinéma Palace with four screens.
The building shows how different architectural periods were merged together through careful structural preservation. This approach reveals how the city adapted old spaces to serve new public needs.
The cinema sits along Boulevard Anspach and provides access for visitors with mobility limitations. The venue uses modern projection equipment to show current films.
The rooster crowning the gable is the emblem of the Pathé film company, which commissioned Paul Hamesse to convert the building into a "théâtre cinématographique" in 1913. Faint painted lettering reading "THEATRE" and "PATHÉ" survives on the gable above the arched window bay.
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