Rivoli Ballroom

Rivoli Ballroom, Brockley Road

This ballroom was created in 1958–9 for the promoter Leonard Tomlin within a former cinema dating from 1913, designed by Henley Attwater. The building has undergone minor later alterations.

The exterior elevation facing Brockley Road displays Art Deco inspiration and dates from 1931. It features a central, deeply recessed entrance accessed by a broad flight of steps, flanked by two simple shop fronts. Pilasters topped with plasterwork urns terminate the elevation and accentuate the central section, which has a raised parapet with a heavily moulded cornice. Two signs affixed to the pilasters read "Dancing" and "Tonight" and may date from the 1950s; other signage is later. The side and rear elevations have not been observed but are likely to be plain and determined largely by function.

The interior is characterised by an eclectic deployment of neo-classical, Art Deco and oriental motifs in an exotic and luxuriant decorative scheme, largely dating from the late 1950s, although the auditorium ceiling survives from the earlier cinema. The entrance steps lead to a foyer—a corridor-like space with a raked floor and Art Deco-style marquetry panelling. The main motif is a geometric composition of intersecting curves in a shape with a broad segmental top, tapering centre and curved base, accentuated through dark wood inlay with a diamond shape in the centre picked out in glass or mirror. Though 1920s in inspiration, this is characteristic of the 1950s fashion for reviving the Art Deco aesthetic.

The foyer leads to the ballroom itself, a vast auditorium with a shallow barrel-vaulted ceiling, complete with a raised viewing dais, stage, proscenium, fixed banquettes and a sprung maple dance floor. The decorative scheme is kitsch and flamboyant: red velour padded walls with gilt picture-frame style panels and decorated pilasters, scallop-shaped lights, a red velour pelmet, French chandeliers and Chinese lanterns create the overall effect. The ballroom is flanked by two narrow bars running the length of the hall—one dating from 1958 and the other from 1960. The earlier bar (to the right) is lined with booths and tables with leather upholstery arranged to evoke a railway carriage; the bar at the end of the room features a tiled front of Arabesque interlaced patterns and is lit by exotic saucer-shaped lamps decorated with a mixture of Georgian and oriental patterns. The panelling motif established in the foyer is continued on various doors, including those to the ladies' powder room and gentlemen's cloakroom, and signage throughout the building—such as the "Buffet" sign—appears contemporary with the late 1950s refurbishment. A second function room dating from the late 20th century features a neo-classical decorative scheme with gilded Corinthian capitals, a modillion cornice and Adam-esque garlands along the beams supporting a ceiling adorned with photographs of Old Master paintings; this room is not of special interest.

The Rivoli Ballroom was built in 1913 as the Crofton Park Picture Palace to designs by Henley Attwater. Like many local cinemas of the early 20th century, it was a simple structure comprising a barrel-vaulted auditorium accessed through a foyer from the street. The Picture Palace was refaced in the inter-war period—the Art Deco-style stepped parapet and decorative urns date from this time—and a café was added to the rear. It was renamed the Rivoli Cinema in 1929.

The widespread popularity of television and the management of cinemas by chains led to the closure of many small or independent cinemas from the 1950s onwards. A great number of auditoria were converted to dance halls and subsequently to bingo halls or nightclubs as tastes in entertainment changed over the second half of the 20th century. On Boxing Day 1959, two and a half years after the screening of the last film (The Nat 'King' Cole Musical Story on 2 March 1957), the Rivoli Cinema reopened as the Rivoli Ballroom. The refurbishment was carried out by local businessman and dancing devotee Leonard Tomlin, whose relative had been a lessee of the cinema in 1917. The original plans, approved by the local authority in September 1958, survive and reveal Tomlin's ambitious scheme for the interior, which included a Canadian maple sprung dance floor, crystal balls hanging from the ceiling, fixed seating around the auditorium and a side bar with booths. The makeover was clearly successful, and in 1960 permission was sought for an extension to include a members' bar. The building has been little altered since 1960 aside from a rear extension and remains in use as a dance hall. In recent years it has become increasingly sought after by popular musicians for concerts and video shoots; attending a dance at the "spectacular Rivoli Ballroom" is listed on Time Out's list of 101 things to do in London.