Paramount And Universal Cinemas

The Paramount and Universal Cinemas, built around 1923 by Verity and Beverley, is a Grade II listed building located on Lower Regent Street in the City of Westminster. Designed as a Super Cinema, it features Portland stone ashlar on a steel frame and a pantiled roof, showcasing a free interpretation of Beaux Arts French neo-classicism, highlighted by a domed corner.

The building has four main storeys and is five bays wide, with a rounded corner and a seven-bay return to Jermyn Street. In the 1970s, the ground floor was remodeled to include an entrance to the cinemas on the corner, along with a deep canopy-fascia. The first floor has tripartite recessed casements, while the second floor features a three-window center with archivolt arched windows and carved reveals, flanked by outer bays with segmental pedimented windows.

At the third floor level, there is a bracketed cornice with a balustraded parapet topped by urns, and this floor is set back from the facade. An enriched frieze displays plaques inscribed with "Music" and "Drama." The rounded corner is topped with a colored mosaic dome, which is further crowned by a stone arched, octagonal lantern with a pantile cupola roof. The treatment along Jermyn Street is plainer but maintains a similar style.