Aurora cinema

The ornate Aurora cinema was built in 1953 to satisfy the cultural needs of Klaipėda’s fishermen. It had a 330 seat cinema hall, a spacious lobby and a balcony with a press stand and a buffet. The premises were decorated with various ornaments, mirrors and luxurious furniture. Aurora cinema hosted not only movie screenings, but also dance nights, which used to take place until the sixties of the previous century.
During the fire of 1958, the most damage was suffered by the cinema hall, which was showing a movie at that time. The reasons of the fire were concealed.
After the reconstruction, the building continued to operate as a cinema, but after a while it suffered another fire, with the most damage caused to the cinema hall again. However, the building continued to serve as a warehouse for movie strips for several years. Later, the archive was transferred to Vilnius and the building was sold.
After the third fire, the building became a psychiatric hospital.
After the most recent fire, the building remained abandoned.
In 2005, the former building of Aurora cinema was reconstructed, preserving the façade columns and other authentic details. The architectural solutions enabled to create a harmonious combination of antiquity and modernity. This building is now a conference centre, featuring four different halls, which can host more than 150 visitors. Nearby, there is the Aurora Hotel City. These two buildings create a single complex and the building also hosts the office of the Association of the Lithuanian Stevedoring Companies (2018).

Compiled in 2018