Tales of the Table · Tales of the Table
Selfossbíó & Gildaskálinn (1944–1985) – Lost Tables
Selfossbíó opened on 13 May 1944, a theatre, cinema and restaurant designed by Gunnlaugur Halldórsson and built of pumice block, with hot water hauled from Hveragerði to help the concrete cure. Its curved west wing housed Gildaskálinn, an 80-seat restaurant famous for its Sunday cold buffet, and the
Selfossbíó opened on 13 May 1944, a theatre, cinema and restaurant designed by Gunnlaugur Halldórsson and built of pumice block, with hot water hauled from Hveragerði to help the concrete cure. Its curved west wing housed Gildaskálinn, an 80-seat restaurant famous for its Sunday cold buffet, and the hall seated about 330. Haukur Morthens was a regular in the early years, and from the mid-1950s Icelandic and foreign bands played weekend dances that drew crowds from across the South. Television and changing habits thinned the audience, Gildaskálinn was torn down in 1981, and after a last attempt by the local sports club the final dance was held on New Year's Eve 1985, with the band Lótus playing Álfareiðin as a farewell; the building was levelled in 1986.
The building was levelled in 1986
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