Excelsior cinema is the first modern European-style cinema in Plovdiv.

In early 1911, Edmondo Vaccaro, director of the Tobacco Cartel in Plovdiv, initiated the construction of a modern cinema in the city. He commissioned the Sofia architect Alexander Stavrev to prepare a project for a modern European-style cinema to present to the Plovdiv public. Vaccaro managed to reach an agreement with the rich Stanchidi family to provide an opportunity for the Excelsior Cinema to rise on the site of the former Veliko Tarnovo Hotel on Main Street. Stanchidi's heiress, Mrs. Alexandrina Stancheva, placed her initials on the facade of the building. There are similar monograms on the facades of other buildings from this period.