There are now concrete ideas about what could be done with the former “Film Casino” in Dortmund. © Sabrina Wagner/Imago
The Dortmund “Film Casino” has been empty for over two decades. Now there is an initial idea as to what could happen next with the “key property”.
Dortmund – The shopping arcade between Ostenhellweg and Rosental is by no means one of the most presentable spots in Dortmund. If the city has its way, the entrance to the former film casino, which today exudes the dubious charm of a trash-filled construction site with a drug hotspot, will soon shine in new splendor. To ensure that the once magnificent cinema becomes a place for cultural creation again, the city leaders have concrete plans for a “Film Casino 2.0,” reports RUHR24.
The city of Dortmund has bought property with “Film Casino” – what happens next?
It was already clear at the end of November 2023: the eyesore in Dortmund’s city center should disappear; the city announced big plans for the property in which the former film casino is located. At least the first step for future use has now been taken.
Since March 2024, the city has also been the official owner of the listed film casino and the shopping arcade between Ostenhellweg and Rosental. The city of Dortmund announces this on its homepage. Since 2000, the property has only been a ghost cinema, and at one point there was even talk of demolition (read all the news about the economy in Dortmund at RUHR24 here).
According to the city, Dortmunder Film Casino is a “key property”
The decision is no coincidence. After all, the Film Casino is “something like a key property,” Dortmund’s treasurer and cultural director, Jörg Stüdemann, is quoted on the city’s homepage. Thanks to its central location, the house can still “send important impulses to the entire city” today.
Whether film classics will actually make the hearts of Dortmund cineastes beat faster again in the near future is still up in the air. According to the city, a feasibility study is currently in progress. It is intended to provide information about which realistic scenarios are possible for the former cinema, whose doors opened for the first time on October 16, 1956.
First interested party in Dortmund’s film casino known – Dortmund Music needs more space
There is already an idea. According to the city, “Dortmund Music”, formerly the Dortmund Music School, needs new rooms where the ensembles and orchestras can rehearse in peace. The options on Steinstrasse are too limited.
However, demand is apparently high. According to the city’s homepage, “not only the cultural institutions (…) have expressed their interest in the film casino”. When asked by RUHR24, the city explained that the TU Dortmund University, for example, had expressed “interest in using the large hall for events”. In addition, there are “a few private usage requests”.
The city of Dortmund wants to do something about drug problems
One thing is clear: the shopping arcade on Ostenhellweg should not remain in its current dilapidated state. The city says it has recognized the problem of the increasing number of drug addicts, particularly with regard to crack cocaine. In view of the drug crisis in Dortmund’s city center, the city announced three concrete measures at the beginning of the year.
The “Film Casino” in Dortmund
The start of the film casino was quite something: for the glittering opening on October 16, 1956, acting celebrities such as Lieselotte Pulver and Johannes Heesters came to the upscale premiere cinema in Dortmund. It was the last major new cinema building in what was then the nationwide cinema stronghold of Dortmund with its 75 cinemas. Over the decades, the cinema landscape changed and became less important. Images have not flickered across the film casino screen for more than 20 years now.
Source: City of Dortmund