Phoenix

Built in 1910-11 as the Picturedrome for H.E. Barley, and later remodelled in 1938 as the Rex by Howes and Jackman, this building is a cinema located on the High Road in East Finchley. The facade is rendered, with the left return wall in stock brick, and the visible auditorium walls in brick. The building comprises a three-storey entrance block and a lower auditorium set back behind, without a balcony.

The exterior is in a Moderne style, featuring a simple concrete cornice. The central entrance doors are accessed by two steps, increasing to three on the right to accommodate the ground's slope. A first-floor canopy extends across the frontage. The first floor features three horizontal windows hooded by a mould, and the top floor has three vertical slits in the render. A narrow vertical window is located on the right side of the facade, and two similar windows are stacked in the left return. An original black vertical feature formerly displayed the cinema’s name.

Inside, a small foyer leads to a double-height inner foyer, from which the auditorium is accessed by a right-hand staircase. The long, tunnel-like auditorium has a raked floor. The barrel ceiling, divided into fields by bands of plaster, dates from the original 1910-11 construction. The 1938 remodelling introduced an arch-topped proscenium and Art Deco relief panels on the side walls and in the angle between the walls and the proscenium. These panels, depicting foliage, are in the style of Eugene Mollo and Michael Egan. A heavy moulded cornice runs across the auditorium, rising to meet the proscenium in the far corners.

This building represents an early purpose-built cinema that has remained in continuous operation. The auditorium’s layout and appearance remain unaltered since 1938, and it contains high-quality Art Deco relief panels in fibrous plaster.