A much-anticipated cinema that has risen from the ashes of an old Red Hill skate arena burnt by fire in 2002 is finally about to open.
Brisbane cinema brothers Peter and Stephen Sourris, who have been restoring the site for more than two years, will open Red Hill Cinemas’ doors on Saturday.
The site, on the corner of Enoggera Terrace and Musgrave Road, was originally “Pop’s Picture Palace” in the 1920s, and remained that way until the mid-sixties, when it was converted into a youth club called Teen City.
In 1965, it finally evolved into a skating arena until it was engulfed by flames.
The Red Hill Cinemas site has sentimental value for the Sourris family, as Peter and Stephen’s great-uncle owned the building when it was a cinema in the 1950s.
Their family business, Five Star Cinemas, operates New Farm Cinemas, Elizabeth Picture Theatre and the Yatala Drive-In.
Stephen Sourris said Red Hill Cinemas was a long time coming.
“It was derelict and needed a lot of attention after it had been sitting idle for 17 years,” he said.
Source: After 17 years, derelict skate arena to reopen as boutique cinemas