Gone For Good: Three Art Deco Cinemas
Sad blows this week to London’s historic Cinema scene. The former ‘Art Deco’ Saville Theatre, built in 1931, was home to the Beatles ‘Apple Live Events’ from 1966-1970, hosting The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and The Rolling Stones, among many other Rock luminaries of the era. It was converted into an EMI Cinema known as The ABC Shaftesbury Avenue in 1971, a two screen conversion, and then later acquired by Canon Cinemas as a four screen conversion in the mid-1980’s. The Cinema became the Odeon Covent Garden in 2001 until its imminent demise on 11th August, 2024.
In this latest blow for London’s film scene, the two Odeon cinemas are both set to shut their doors for good. The Covent Garden and Surrey Quays branches will call it a wrap on 11th August and 18th August, respectively. In a statement to My London online, the Odeon chain said, “The decision was down to redevelopment plans taking place at both sites in Covent Garden and at Surrey Quays”. Conservationists have also indicated that The Phoenix Garden, situated to the rear of Odeon Covent Garden, is also under threat. All due to the redevelopments coming soon. The Phoenix Garden is a community green space set by St Giles-In-The-Fields Church and near to The Phoenix Theatre. Nurtured on the grounds of Covent Garden’s final World War 2 bomb site.
Picturehouse Fulham, an Art Deco multi-screen conversion, closed on 11th July, following on from the closures of Picturehouse Stratford East (28th July) and Picturehouse Bromley (1st August). Picturehouse Bromley is a particularly sad loss. Designed by George Coles (1884-1963) Bromley’s ‘Oscar Deutsch Odeon Theatre’ opened in 1936, and is one of several Coles architectural gems, emanating from London’s ‘Art Deco’ Cinema Palace era, including The Troxy in Stepney (1933) The Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn (1937) and The Odeon Muswell Hill (1936) all of which are Grade II* listed through English Heritage. Formerly run by The Rank Organisation, Empire Cinemas, Cineworld, and since 2019, Picturehouse, the building has been operating exclusively as a cinema for almost 90 years. The ‘Save Bromley Picturehouse Campaign’ recently held a Town Hall meeting, attracting the support of local councillors via a petition that received almost 8,000 signatures.
These three Picturehouses closed due to dwindling attendance, amid public criticism of bad maintenance. Meanwhile, rival cinema chain Curzon has opened another new cinema at Sea Containers House, situated at 20 Upper Ground, London SE1. Described by Curzon as an “intimate 56 seat screening room (it) is the perfect place to relax with a curated mix of first run releases, recent titles you may have missed, family films and classics; Curzon Sea Containers will satisfy both the film buff and the design lover. The cinema has 4k digital projection, Dolby 7.1 sound and luxurious seating”.
There will soon be a new Chelsea Cinema in Kings Road, too, rebuilt on the site of the former demolished building. 2024 is seeing smaller cinemas such as the Everyman chain with improved projection facilities, larger screens, comfortable seating, and smaller capacity, replacing the old Cinema Palaces, and their compromised conversions into multiplexes, undertaken some 40 years ago.
