Eden Court

Plans for a theatre, restaurant and dance hall were first put forward in November 1967, and lengthy negotiations followed. The Eden Court Theatre was formally opened on 15 April 1976 by Andrew Cruickshank MBE, an actor best known for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in BBC's long-running series "Dr Finlay's Casebook". It was built on a site next to the Ness river, and incorporated the Gothic Bishop's Palace residence (from which it took its name) into a new building designed by architects Law Dunbar and Naismith. The theatre was at that time a revolution to Inverness, and the wider Highland Region. It provided modern theatre performance space for the first time since the early 1930s. Inverness…

Eden Court reopened in November 2007, having undergone a complete refurbishment and extension by Robertson Construction and Page\Park Architects. Upon its reopening it became the largest combined arts centre in Scotland. With the reconstruction complete the theatre now has two auditoriums. The main auditorium, renamed the Empire Theatre, has a capacity of just under 840. The second auditorium, named the OneTouch Theatre, has a capacity of about 270. The two new cinemas, La Scala and The Playhouse, have capacities of 125 and 78 respectively. The Empire Theatre, La Scala and Playhouse are named after the former venues of those names (the first La Scala was a cinema in Strother's Lane which…