Art Deco Wonder, Kolkata’s 127-Year-Old Roxy Cinema To Be Restored To Its Former Glory

Roxy Cinema, tucked just behind the iconicity of Kolkata’s New Market, has stood for more than a century as a quiet witness to the city’s cultural pulse. Now, at 127 years old, it’s being pulled out of slow decay and given a chance to matter again.

The Roxy Cinema: Kolkata’s Treasure

According to Times Now, the Roxy Cinema, which was once an opera house in 1908, transformed into a single-screen cinema in 1941. Its semicircular hall, three-tiered balconies, and elegant Art Deco interiors weren’t just architectural choices but were gestures of a city that once revered the arts. Over the decades, Roxy became more than a building; it became a gathering place. Even Rabindranath Tagore is said to have performed there. The cinema screened films that made memories. And now, it’s being restored and being brought into the fabric of the city it quietly served.

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The Iconic Cinema Gets A Revival

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), along with CREDAI Kolkata, has signed on to the project. CREDAI, which represents real estate developers across the city and its fringes, is funding the interior restoration with a whopping investment of ₹5 crore. The idea is to preserve the character and sanctity of the original Art Deco work. For this, a local architecture firm is being brought on board. KMC, meanwhile, will handle external civil repairs and will supervise the entire process through its Heritage Committee.

Mayor Firhad Hakim has been vocal in his support, calling the restoration a much-needed investment in the city’s memory. According to Times Now reports, CREDAI Kolkata’s president, Sidharth Pansari, echoed that sentiment and said to PTI that this initiative was a beautiful way to honour the culture that has shaped them.

However, this is not KMC’s first-of-its-kind initiative. It has restored Star Theatre and Minerva in the past, both of which were brought back from the brink and reintroduced to the public. That emotional pull is precisely why the restoration matters; because once structures of this historical and cultural value are lost, their absence leaves a void that no reconstruction can truly replace.

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Work on the Roxy Cinema is expected to begin soon. The project is being viewed as a critical step in safeguarding Kolkata’s architectural and cultural heritage. Once completed, the restored cinema is expected to serve as both a functional public space and a preserved landmark of the city’s artistic legacy.

Cover Image Courtesy: samirandutta/X