Photographing Aegidium: A Stunning Abandoned Movie Theater

Aegidium is a stunning abandoned movie theater, hidden in plain sight on a busy street in Brussels, Belgium. From the outside you would not expect there are multiple rooms with a total size of 3.260 m² located behind the small door. A mix of Art Nouveau and Art Deco elements is found throughout the building. However, the main room (movie theater) is designed in a beautiful Moorish style by architect Léon Denis.

The building is constructed in 1906 and opened its doors under the name ‘Diamant Palace’. Main purpose of the building was to host parties. After the owner died, the building was sold and renamed to ‘Panthéon-Palace’. The Panthéon-Palace was well known for some of the best dancing nights. Eventually, in 1929 the building changed owners again and was named ‘Aegidium’. Aegidium refers to the patron saint of Saint-Gilles. Saint-Gilles is the name of the district that Aegidium is located in.

Multiple renovation works took place in 1933. This led to the new purpose of the building: a movie theater. For almost 50 years this was a success, but in 1979 Aegidium was transformed into a day center. Nearly 6 years later the doors closed due to the bad state of the building.

In the past years, many potential projects have passed but none of them have been a success thus far. The building requires a heavy renovation, and the fact that strong regulations apply for that renovation it becomes expensive and challenging. Let’s hope that this amazing building finds a new owner and purpose very soon.

More photos of Aegidium can be seen below: