old cinemas of london

southall lrichmond
walthamstow
catford

The Ritz cinema, Edgware, north London, typical of cinemas in their heyday. Note the billboards announcing the film title Lisbon Story with Patricia Burke and David Farrar. These date the photograph to after 1946 and probably around the 1950s. Photo reproduced according to the terms and conditions of Flickr. A photo in the Barnet Archive confirms that the cinema was in existence in the 1930s.

Also note the ever-present adjacent sweet shop, in this case Maynards.

astoria old kent road

An underground London cinema opened by the illusive street artist Banksy was purchased by the Old Vic Theatre Company last year, and looks set to host a series of “innovative and surprising arts events” throughout 2011.  Opened as “The Lambeth Palace” to screen the UK premiere of Banksy’s film Exit Through the Gift Shop, the cinema and surrounding space are now known as the Old Vic Tunnels, a diverse venue engaging young Londoners in theatre and the arts.

Old 'Rex' cinema, 101 Brixton Hill
The unusual frontage of this (now disused) Tarpaulin and Tent Manufacturing Company reveals that the building was originally constructed as the Rex Cinema, opened in 1911.

Between 1910 and 1915, at least 9 cinemas opened in the Brixton area (some of them in railway arches).

Now the Ritzy is the sole surviving cinema in Brixton - and happily, it's doing good business! 

I have been reading a fascinating book on Finnish cinema architecture and the old cinema palaces of the early 20th century, titled Elohuvia (written by Outi Heiskanen, well worth a read if you understand Finnish!). Sadly most of the old cinemas of Finland have been demolished and the very few that still exist are largely used for other purposes. But it inspired me to look into London's old cinemas since quite a few still exist in here and are used for the purposes they were originally designed for.

I paid a visit to the Phoenix Cinema, the oldest purpose built cinema in the UK, to see The King's Speech with a friend. It is located in East Finchley. The cinema was built in 1910 and opened in 1912, during the silent era. It was called the Picturedome back then and seated 428 people. In 1929 the cinema, then known as the Coliseum, was the first in the area to show talkies (sound films). In 1937, the building was redesigned and rebuilt in a more art deco style and reopened as the Rex in 1938. It was named The Phoenix in 1975 to act as a showcase for the European ‘art house’ and world cinema films.

Sadly the exterior of the building was remodeled in the 1930s to give the façade a more sleek and modernist touch. The interior ceiling, however, is the original ceiling from 1910 and the Deco details, including the gorgeous gold panels, are from 1938. The Phoenix has appeared in contemporary pop culture quite a bit, including in the films Interview with the Vampire, The End of the Affair and Nine.

It was an absolutely wonderful experience to visit this historical piece of cinema history. It is a very special place to watch a film. The interior, especially, is probably the most beautiful interior of a cinema I have ever seen. 

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