Sex, ghosts and 'The Matrix': 130 years of Regent Street Cinema

"With more than 100 cinemas, London is a wonderland for cinephiles . Pull back the curtain of some the most beloved picture houses and you'll find fascinating histories galore. The Regent Street Cinema is one of those places. This month it celebrates 130 years since it became the birthplace of British cinema with screenings of the Lumière brothers' groundbreaking Cinématographe show in 1896. It changed entertainment forever."

"In 1838, The Polytechnic Institution at 309 Regent Street opened to the public. And amid the opening of Europe's first photographic studio in the roof in 1841, and the crucial addition of a theatre in 1848, the education centre quickly developed a reputation for Victorian-era technological innovation. 'It was like a mix of the Science Museum today, with lectures and laboratories,' says University of Westminster archivist Elaine Penn. 'There were experiments with electricity, explosions, and even a diving bell [that fit] six people.'"

The Regent Street site opened in 1838 as The Polytechnic Institution at 309 Regent Street and quickly became a centre for Victorian technological innovation, hosting Europe's first photographic studio (1841) and adding a theatre in 1848. Spectacular stage effects such as the 'Pepper's Ghost' illusion occurred in 1862, foreshadowing future visual storytelling. The venue became the birthplace of British cinema with the Lumière brothers' Cinématographe screening in 1896. Over subsequent decades the single-screen cinema presented a wide range of fare — from nature documentaries and X-rated films to naked theatre, royal visitors and rock 'n' roll stars — and now marks its anniversary with ten days of celebrations.

Read at Time Out London