Ultimate Picture Palace

Ultimate Picture Palace

Company type	Independent cinema
Industry	Film exhibition
Founded	24 February 1911
Founder	Frank Stuart
Defunct	1917 (first closure)
Fate	Reopened and renamed several times; now community-owned
Headquarters	Oxford , England
Area served	Oxford
Products	Film screenings (independent, mainstream, foreign language, classic movies)

The Ultimate Picture Palace stands as an independent cinema located in Oxford, England, and holds the distinction of being the city's sole remaining independent film venue. Its programming includes a diverse range of independent, mainstream, foreign language, and classic movies. Since 1994, the building has been recognized as a Grade II listed structure.

History

Oxford's inaugural cinema, the Electric Theatre, was established by Frank Stuart in 1910. Stuart also owned the Elm Tree pub situated at Cowley Road and Jeune Street. In the same year, he commenced construction of a second cinema on Jeune Street behind the pub, which officially opened its doors on 24 February 1911 under the name Oxford Picture Palace.

Operations ceased in 1917 when the cinema’s manager was drafted during World War I, after which the building served for many years as a furniture storage facility.

In 1976, Bill Heine and Pablo Butcher revived the venue, renaming it the Penultimate Picture Palace. They enhanced the façade with a sculpture of Al Jolson’s hands created by John Buckley. The opening film under their management was Winstanley. This period saw the cinema developing a reputation for showcasing a varied and thought-provoking selection of films that set it apart from conventional cinemas.

The cinema was closed by Heine in 1994. It was briefly occupied and functioned as Studio 6 Cinema before being acquired by brothers Saied and Zaid Marham, who invested £40,000 in restoring its neoclassical exterior. They reopened it in June 1996 as the Ultimate Picture Palace.

Financial challenges arose in the 2000s, leading to Saied Marham selling the cinema in July 2009 to Philippa Farrow and Jane Derricott. They introduced a small refreshment bar within the auditorium.

In 2011, ownership transferred to Becky Hallsmith. After a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014, Hallsmith upgraded the auditorium with new seating installations.

Following Hallsmith’s passing in September 2018, the 'Own the UPP' initiative was launched in April 2022, offering 312,000 community shares to residents of Oxford. By July 2022, enough shares had been purchased to enable operation of the cinema as a community-owned enterprise.

See also

• Phoenix Picturehouse, Walton Street

External links

• – documentary film about the Ultimate Picture Palace
• – local wiki entry