Geneva mayor wants to reactivate closed cinema
The Geneva mayor Rémy Pagani seems to have chosen to fight an unwinnable war on trying to save the former Rialto cinema near the main train station.
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The cinema closed two years ago as the owners Pathé says it was no longer viable.
But ownership of the old underground multiplex is complex. Half is owned by the neighboring Hotel Cornavin and the other half by Swiss Federal Railways – who says they want to take back control when the lease ends in 2031.
The mayor is hoping to use ‘change of use’ laws to reopen the space as a cinema. But the hotel says the former owners removed all the equipment and furniture and the space is deteriorating rapidly and they have to manage water leaks.
Cinemas are suffering generally as more and more decide to watch movies in the comfort of their own homes.
