Odeon Cinema

The Odeon Cinema, built in 1938-9 by Arthur J Price and William Calder Robson of Harry Weedon and Partners, was commissioned for Oscar Deutsch and the Odeon group of companies. It’s constructed with a steel frame clad in brick, featuring white and green faience on the front and black faience on the lower part of the left side elevation; the roof is not visible. The design is rectangular and double-height, with a corner tower.

Originally, the auditorium held 1,800 seats, arranged in stalls and a single circle, with foyers on both levels. In 1975, it was subdivided into two smaller cinemas, each seating 200, with a projection box situated under the circle. The main auditorium now incorporates the original circle, front stalls, proscenium, stage and associated features.

The main facade consists of a series of planes accentuated by narrow bands, centered around five lancets with metal casements beneath the ODEON sign. A cornice band is striped with green faience. A square, recessed corner tower, also faience-clad and fluted at the top, bears ODEON signs on each face. An original canopy covers the ground floor. The side elevation is of banded brick and tile, stepped down towards the rear, with the ground floor clad in black faience. A rare surviving feature is the original queue canopy, running the full length of the facade.

The auditorium includes a stage, but lacks a fly tower. The proscenium features a fluted, streamlined surround, flanked by decorative screens concealing ventilation chambers. The ceiling has molded cyma decoration ascending in six steps, incorporating two bands of decorative vents and service ducts leading to pairs of pendant lights. A rear projection box is now disused. There are original pendant wall lights, six on either side of the auditorium. Dado panelling and veneered barriers are present, along with a molded circle front. Original doors with small viewing panes under chrome bars remain; the original exit doors in the front of the stalls are present, though no longer fitted with seating. The circle foyer retains some original seating but has been repanelled and repurposed into a bar.

The cinema is listed as a remarkably complete surviving example, retaining numerous original features that are increasingly uncommon.

Sources: Rosemary Clegg, Odeon, 1985. The Ideal Kinema, 22 June 1939.