El Cinema Dore It is one of the best-known places dedicated to cinema in Madrid. It was born as a place for various social leisure activities: what was then called “a salon”.

Its current location on 3 Santa Isabel Street, in the Antón Martín neighborhood, the Doré room was inaugurated on December 19, 1912. It had capacity for 1.250 spectators and consisted of a ground floor and two floors, a garden and a smoking room.

In 1923 the current one was built Dore Cinema. The project dated back to 1922, and the plans were signed by the architect Crispulo Moor Head. Master Francisco Garriga, a specialist in furniture manufacturing, also participated in the construction of the Doré. The modernist style adopted for the Doré was common in cinemas at the beginning of the century.

Today it is still a building that attracts our attention when we pass by. Inside, silent films began to be projected, under the screen, there was a piano whose notes enlivened the projection and the time of breaks. It seems that the clicking of the pipes that the spectators ate while they were watching the screen was also a common sound. And of course, with our great taste for renaming things, people named it 'The Palace of the Pipes'.

There are several hypotheses about his real name: the first, that he was named in honor of the French engraver and illustrator, Gustavo Doré. However, it seems that in old photographs of the building the words Do and Re appear separated by a hyphen. This strengthens the hypothesis that its name refers to the first two notes of the musical scale.
The cinema survived the fall of a shell during the Civil War, and languished until it closed in 1963, becoming obsolete before the appearance of large movie theaters. Its demolition was even considered, but when things were looking worse for the Dore Cinema, it was bought by the Madrid City Council, which signed a transfer agreement with the Ministry of Culture. It was decided to convert it into the projection room of the National Film Archive, a function which it has fulfilled, since 1989.

The restoration was carried out by the architect Javier Feduchi. The architectural and decorative elements of the old building are preserved and a second room is being built in its lower part. The central hall was restored and converted into a cafeteria and a bookstore, respecting its characteristic rectangular patio structure with a balcony, illuminated by a central skylight.

Today it is still an ideal place to watch movies in original version, cheap movies, cycles, classic movies and curiosities of all kinds.

More information about the Film Library.

A abrazo.