Cinema Batalha

The Cinema Batalha is a Portuguese cinema and concert venue in civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau e Vitória, municipality of Porto. Originally known as the Salão High-Life (High Life Cinema), it was moved from Boavista by its owners to its current location, and rebuilt by architect Artur Andrade in the Art-Deco style, re-inaugurated on 3 June 1947. After many years of success, the building and the cinema began losing customers (due to the popularity of video rental services in the 1980s and the growth of multiplex theatres in malls during the 1990s), and was closed in 2003.Re-opened as a cultural and concert venue in 2006, the reconstruction faithfully maintained the original Art-Deco style and (along with the Coliseu do Porto) is one of the more impressive examples of the movement in Porto and Portugal.HistoryThe first film screenings occurred in the Salão High-Life a mere container made of wood and zinc, operated by the company Neves & Pascaud, in the Feira de São Miguel in 1906. Following a short stay in the Cordoaria Garden, two years later Neves & Pascaud inaugurated the Novo Salão High-Life in the Praça da Batalha. In 1913, the name of the cinema was definitely changed to the Cinema Batalha.The Coliseu do Porto was constructed in 1941, where the architects Cassiano Branco, Júlio de Brito and Mário Abreu.The Novo Salão High-Lifebuilding was demolished in 1944, and on the 30 September of that year, the property-owners ordered the construction of the Cinema Batalha, assigning these duties to the civil engineer Bernardino de Barros Machado. The building was built between 1944 and 1947, and inaugurated on 3 June 1947. An examination of the building's construction was performed on 27 September 1948, shortly before the first screenings by the Cineclube do Porto. Due to the censorship of the time, the frescoes by Júlio Pomar and the base-relief by Américo Braga, were ordered removed.