Hyde Park Picture House

The Hyde Park Picture House is a cinema and Grade II listed building in the Hyde Park area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Built by Thomas Winn & Sons, it opened on 7 November 1914. It features many original features, such as an ornate balcony and external box office, and is believed to be the only remaining gaslit cinema in the world. Following the installation of "comfier seating", the Picture House has a capacity of 275, down from around 587 on opening. After being threatened with closure in 1989, the cinema was taken over by Leeds City Council, who created the Grand Theatre and Opera House Limited, an independent company within the council which looks after the Picture House along with the Grand Theatre and Opera House and the City Varieties. An initial National Lottery grant was awarded in 2016 to partly fund a restoration of the building, build a cafe, improve accessibility and add a second screen in the basement. Planning permission was approved in June 2018 and a £2.3 million National Lottery grant was awarded in January 2019 to pay for the project. Following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work began in April 2021 with the cinema reopening on 30th June 2023. A varied programme plays at the cinema, from arthouse movies to big new releases. This bill attracts a varied crowd of local residents and students. The Leeds International Film Festival began at the venue in 1987. As well as showing movies, the cinema hosts occasional musical performances and has been used as both a backdrop for films and TV programmes and as a wedding venue.