Academy

The top part has been genuinely restored and looks really well. Don’t know what the false front to the bottom is for though, or whats going in there, if anything.

I took a walk by this the other day and the planning notice on the wall (or rather a notice to amend the first application) says that the facade of the building will be retained but that the rear is to be demolished and replaced with a 4 story office block.

February 22 2001 : Films and fish oil feature in Academy’s ‘antient’ history
The Irish Times

Planning approval for an office development on the site of the Academy cinema on Dublin’s Pearse Street means that one of the capital’s oldest and most distinguished performance spaces will be lost, at least for the foreseeable future. Although the building, long known as the Antient Concert Rooms but more recently called the Academy cinema, had been closed for more than a decade, its conversion to offices must still be regretted. This is a part of Dublin, after all, which was once rich in theatres, since not far away stood both the Theatre Royal and the Queen’s Royal Theatre, which were demolished in the 1960s – ironically, in both instances, to make way for office blocks.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/property/2001/0222/prop3.htm

January 17 2000 : Joycean landmark to be converted to offices
The Sunday Business Post

The derelict Academy Cinema on Pearse Street owned by the largest cinema group in the Republic, Ward Anderson, is to be converted into office use after Dublin Corporation granted planning permission on January 6. The Corporation has also granted the developers permission to demolish the derelict building to the rear of the cinema and build a five-storey office development over basement car parking. The transformation of the building to office use will be of great regret to fans of Ulysses who pass the building every year on Bloomsday. Formerly the Antient Concert Rooms, the building hosted James Joyce when he sang for Nora Barnacle during a guest appearance. It was used by Parnell as a venue for political rallies, and by “the Swedish nightingale” aka the singer Jenny Lind, and Count John McCormack, who both performed in the building.

Its a shame it going really, but theres not really anything else in the area to make a theatre viable. No theatrical critical mass so to speak.

Unlike say the Gate which is in the middle of all. Its a pity tcd couldn’t of bought it and used it as an auditorium, more in line with the original use, or, the use it was put to for most of its history. Its hard to see the actual original use, turning fish heads into gas, being viable now. Anyway, I get the impression it wasn’t for sale.

As a kid I used to live in the flats right behind the Academy, and it was always a source of wonderment to us; every so often, a clearout in there would produce a skip full of cinema relics from olden times, such as cutouts of movie stars long gone. Over the years it was allowed to fall more and more into neglect. By coincidence, when in college I’d hire public-viewing film reels and videos from a company based there, so got to see part of the inside.
The church beside the Academy was ruined years ago, its gothic exterior homogenised and the atmopheric graveyard of eldritch tombs and crypts removed. The removal of the Academy is pretty much the last blow to Pearse St.

When I saw the facade being renovated, I hoped for a moment some sense had come back to our attitude to the city. Obviously not.
I expect some hideous glass phallus will be attached to the building by some self-congratulatory moron.

P.

How was Trinity allowed to destroy Pearse St in the way that it has? Blocking up shopfronts with concrete blocks must contravene planning laws/regulations, let alone that they are beautiful terracotta fronted period shopfronts.

Unless the works were sanctioned by the CC, which is even worse…

Theres a lot of activity going on on the corner site with Westland Row, is that proposed campus building finally going up?

By the way, Trinity’s contempt for it’s architectural stock has reached it’s pinnical now with the job they have done on Westland Row (mentioned before). They have hired not experienced painters and decorators to finish off their job on all of it’s townhouses, but rather utterly incompetent workmen more accustomed it appears to lashing buckets of molten tar onto roofs. They have executed the most botched job concievable on the buildings, one in particular with marble columns having an inch of messy paint caked onto the marble thats supposed to be on the stone detail below.
Typical.

Trinty’s absolutely fear of the local community would be funny if it weren’t so offensive. As a student, I lived about 2 minutes as-the-crow-flies from the science-end buildings of Trinity. However, I usually had to make a 20 minutes tip all the way up Pearse St to the front gates, then all the way back down again, since gates near Westland Row only opened for an hour in the mornings or evening. How this was supposed to stop a determined thief, who could enter college at Lincoln Place, I don’t know, but it highlighted Trinity’s attitute to the area.

P.

True – when I worked in the IFSC I used to meet a friend of mine (a TCD lecturer) for lunch – if the pearse st gate opposite ST Marks Church was open my journey would have been 20 Mins shorter on a round trip, sure close the gates at night or when its dark but keep ’em open otherwise

Graham, the activity in the tcd ne corner is the ITAC building which will be immeadiately behind the physics building, ie south of the rail line, the rest of that develoupment is still being discussed and depends on various factors, the original project collapsed when elan pulled out. the big test for tcd now is how will they treat the gas building and the forster street banking hall.

Originally posted by notjim
the big test for tcd now is how will they treat the gas building and the forster street banking hall.

Is that the Gas building on D’Olier St.? When did they buy that? Any idea what it is going to be used for?

I didn’t know they bought that. And the banking hall, is that the former AIB building in Foster Place beside the BOI? What are they doing with that?

On the corner railway site, I remember hearing that Trinity agreed to install shopfronts onto Pearse St as some concession to it’s wrecking of the street.

Info:
http://www.archeire.com/news/archives.cgi?ref=browse&f=view&id=104685371019412517314&block=

Some of you should really register for the newsletter 😉

Just did.

The banking hall is going to be a central point of service for college administrative functions, various parts of the admin are monving to the warren of rooms above and around the banking hall, as described in the news article the college has done some swaps so that it now has the upper floors of most of that block. The gas building on d’olier street is going to be the school of nursing and midwifery. there is a planning application in
for various alterations.

The ne development was going to include retail but the precise amount was under dispute with the Townsend street resident assoc, the whole thing is on hold now because there is no money, but some plan will be produce soon for at least a gym and one research building, either there or on the visitor car park behind goldsmith hall, the students have been promised something and there is a huge need for lab space.

the current building work is just this itac building which was to be joined to the new physics building by an atrium, now unaffordable, so it will now just stand beside it, it replaces the old gymnasium, the cut stone building currently coming down.

i guess the reason they were allowed ruin pearse street was that there were road widening plans, now gone. what i don’t understand is why they were allowed to build the theatre with no pearse street enterance.

Originally posted by bigjoe
I see they have put a false front on the Academy Theatre on Pearse Street. although better then the eye sore that was there before it does seem a bit cheap. anyone know what is happening?? could be using it for a film perhaps.

Much better okay. Went looking for a picture I knew I had of it, taken 2001.

Ugghh

The fire brigade were paying this building a visit yesterday evening around 18:50 as I passed by on the train.

Was that the final nail in the coffin for the Academy Theatre?

There was a fire there as I walked past at about six. It was only starting as I passed but by the time I got to the fire station I could see that at least 2 passers had already informed the fire brigade, who were there in less than 5 minutes.