Hackney Picturehouse

Located opposite Hackney Town Hall and the Hackney Empire Theatre, in this East-end of London inner city area. The Central Hall and Library was built in 1907 and was operated by the Methodist Church. It was screening films as part of its programming by 1926. The Hackney Picturehouse opened on October 28th 2011, with “The Help”, “Tintin 3D”, “The Ides of March” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin”. Seating is provided for 294 in Screen 1, 124 in Screen 2, 116 in Screen 3 and 57 in Screen 4. There is a ground floor restaurant cafe/bar, a bar on the first floor, which also has an art gallery space, and the attic bar on the second floor, which also hosts live performances by comedians and live music. The Hackney Picturehouse is an all digital cinema. On display in the foyer is a Phillips DP70 projector which was originally housed in the projection box of the Empire Leicester Square, London. In 2016 a 5th screen with 59-seats was added to plans of architectural firm Earle Architects.

Operated by the Picturehouse/City Screen chain of cinemas. In the early-2000’s, it was remodeled into the Ocean, a live music venue. However after a shaky start and some gang violence it was closed around 2005.

The opening of the Picturehouse brings cinema back to the heart of Hackney, something it has lacked since the closure of the ABC on Mare Street in 1994.

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

popcorn_pete on September 29, 2017 at 9:51 am

The Hackney Picturehouse has had 5 screens for some time now. The fifth is to the left of the cafe bar and up the stairs and is a similar size to that of Screen 4. Occasionally films are also shown opposite The Attic bar when part of a film festival.

popcorn_pete on September 25, 2018 at 10:06 am

The Picturehouse now has a lounge screen with low seating for about 24 people. The space is upstairs at the front of the building and the windows have been covered with thick curtains.

popcorn_pete on April 17, 2020 at 5:57 pm

The Lounge Screen is now known as Screen 6 and has proper seats.

Woody_London on December 8, 2023 at 9:48 am

The buildings first showed films in the 1920s as the Methodist Central Hall Advert added to “photos'