The building that now hosts the Music Gallery is Edison House of Music, a place with a long and colorful history.
It was originally built as a cinema and carried the name Edison, inspired by the man who brought light and sound into people’s lives. It was one of the first neighborhood cinemas in Cluj, a place where emotion was projected onto the wall and the city discovered the magic of film.
After World War II, when the communists came to power, the cinema changed its name to Red Star. It became a popular and affordable cinema, and quite a colorful one. Locals affectionately nicknamed it “the flea cinema”, a name that has lived on in the collective memory of the place.
After the fall of communism, the space went through every possible transformation: it became a bingo hall, a shop, even a church. It seemed to be constantly searching for a new identity. And then we came along.
When we arrived here, we decided to keep the name Edison out of respect for its past. Later, we learned that Thomas Edison invented the first device that could mechanically reproduce sound. That’s when we knew it was the perfect fit for what we wanted to create here: a place dedicated to music, sound, and emotion.
Today, Edison House of Music carries forward the story of this building.
And we hope that, in time, it will find its place in the heart of this city.
