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I took a trip to the south of France to see my brother and his family and stumbled upon this little place in Narbonnes. I'd seen a picture of the exterior online but couldn't find any photos from inside so I was quite keen to take a closer look.
Here's a few bits of history I was able to piece together....
Long before it became a cinema the building was used to house a Spanish colony in the 1950s. Around that time it also served as a place for evangelistic meetings, these meetings were facilitated by the English missionary Douglas Scott. In 1980 the owner of the Alhambra (another local cinema, now demolished), Mr. Pelous, became the owner and transformed it into the first multiplex cinema in Narbonnes consisting of 5 screens. In 2001 a new Mega CGR Multiplex cinema opened on the outskirts of town. Vox struggled to survive the competition and offered Arthouse movies as an alternative attraction but ended up closing it's doors in 2005. In 2006 it was sold to property developers but due to opposition from neighbours they failed to get the ball rolling and it has now been abandoned for 10 years. During that time the building has housed squatters and suffered from fire damage. Recent plans have been put forward to demolish the building and replace it with apartments, this is being met with opposition from local residents and the Mayor who would like to see it restored instead. It is the only downtown cinema left, all the others have been demolished. Here is a link for a petition by the Mayor of Narbonnes to save the Vox from being demolished (translated into English), please sign it if you think it deserves saving..... Cheers
http://bit.ly/1TnvqOq
Here's a few bits of history I was able to piece together....
Long before it became a cinema the building was used to house a Spanish colony in the 1950s. Around that time it also served as a place for evangelistic meetings, these meetings were facilitated by the English missionary Douglas Scott. In 1980 the owner of the Alhambra (another local cinema, now demolished), Mr. Pelous, became the owner and transformed it into the first multiplex cinema in Narbonnes consisting of 5 screens. In 2001 a new Mega CGR Multiplex cinema opened on the outskirts of town. Vox struggled to survive the competition and offered Arthouse movies as an alternative attraction but ended up closing it's doors in 2005. In 2006 it was sold to property developers but due to opposition from neighbours they failed to get the ball rolling and it has now been abandoned for 10 years. During that time the building has housed squatters and suffered from fire damage. Recent plans have been put forward to demolish the building and replace it with apartments, this is being met with opposition from local residents and the Mayor who would like to see it restored instead. It is the only downtown cinema left, all the others have been demolished. Here is a link for a petition by the Mayor of Narbonnes to save the Vox from being demolished (translated into English), please sign it if you think it deserves saving..... Cheers
http://bit.ly/1TnvqOq1.
2. The entrance lobby is filled with these blue seats which have been removed from Screen 1.
3. Ticket Hall
4. How it looked when still in use in 2001
5.
6. Screen 1, the largest of the 5, has definitely seen better days. My heart sank when I walked in here
7. Most of the other projector rooms were completely empty but this one had rolls of film everywhere
and other bits lying around
and other bits lying around
8.
9. Screen 2 was in far better condition, things were starting to look up
10.
11.
12. Everywhere you go in this place there are bits of film memorabelia scattered across the floor
13. Screen 3 has been left with only 2 rows of seats bizarrely
14.
15.
16. Screen 4 is a sorry sight, fire damage has caused collapse from the floor above and irreparable damage throughout
17.
18.
19. Screen 5, fully seated and amazingly still has an almost intact screen!
20. Old tickets, 32 Francs a piece......that's about the price of 4 Kronies nowadays
Quite enjoyed this one despite the state of it. It always has more meaning documenting somewhere that hasn't been photographed before, especially when it's on the brink of disappearing forever.......
Thanks for looking mes amies
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