The former George Cinema on Bath Street in Portobello, one of Edinburgh's most stunning yet neglected buildings, has been vacant since 2016. It originally opened in 1939 as the County Cinema, an Art Deco movie theatre that screened early films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Air Devils.
From Grand Opening to Bingo Hall
Designed by renowned Scotland-based architect Thomas Bowhill Gibson, who also designed Edinburgh's still-operating Dominion Cinema, the building seated up to 1,600 visitors. Its unique saucer shape maximised views of the screen and leg room in each seat.
A new owner took over in the early 1950s, overseeing major renovations. It reopened towards the end of 1954 as the George Cinema, featuring a then-state-of-the-art sound system with 32 loudspeakers. The cinema delighted countless movie fans until 1974, when it screened its final film and closed its doors.
Left to Rot After 2016 Closure
The building was soon converted into a bingo hall, with changes including the replacement of its outer cladding and the destruction of its central glass brick tower. The bingo hall ceased operations in 2016, leaving the building vacant ever since.
As reported by Edinburgh Live, an urban explorer captured footage inside the former cinema in 2024, showing graffiti on the outside and interiors strewn with rubbish like shopping carts, traffic cones, and exposed pipes.
Community Campaign to Revive the George
Proposals to demolish the building and build private flats have been refused by the City of Edinburgh Planning Authority. In 2016, the community campaign group Friends of The George was founded by local professionals to redevelop the site into an independent commercially run cinema. The group's 2023 proposal to buy the cinema was rejected, but they continue to fight to save it.
The Friends of the George website states: "Imagine a remodelled George, operating as a community-oriented cinema, with three screens, a café-bar, space for conferences, meetings and education use and ample front of house areas. We believe this is possible, and we have been working hard to prepare the business and architectural plans to make a new George a reality for Portobello."
