The Belcourt

This piece is a part of our 2015 Nashville Trail Map. Check out all the points on the trail and download our hand-illustrated map here.

Stepping inside the Belcourt, Nashville’s historic independent movie theatre, is like stepping back in time to a place where films were magical presentations of chaotic movements juxtaposed with staged, poetic tableaus, where orchestras were the soundtrack and closing red curtains were the final scene. The theatre itself is a work of art, adorned with trumpeting cherubs, lush velvet seats, and black and white tiles in the foyer (yeah, there’s a foyer). In the 1930’s, the cinema house turned into a community theatre until 1966 when the building returned to it’s rightful origin as a refuge for film. After a few defunct years, the Belcourt reopened in 1999 as what it is today and in May of this year, the theatre celebrated its 90th birthday! Now, one of a few selected theatres to showcase films in the renowned Sundance Film Festival, it shows movies 365 days out of the year and is the best place to find independent, foreign and classic films. Hurry to check out the rest of this year’s movies, because in early 2016, the Belcourt will shut down for 6 months to undergo a massive and justified $4.5 million renovation! Whoa!

2102 Belcourt Ave, 37212