Golders Green Hippodrome

The Golders Green Hippodrome is a former variety theatre and concert hall and studio, built in 1913 by Bertie Crewe. It occupies a prominent corner location. The building is constructed of brick and concrete, with rendered facades and a partial steel frame, covered by an asphalt roof with an octagonal cupola.

The rectangular plan features a main facade of three storeys and seven bays, facing a bus station, with rusticated stair towers containing Diocletian attic windows. A giant Ionic order is present, with pediments above the second-floor windows. The windows are small-paned casements, some with coloured leaded glass. The central exit doors, originally providing access to the pit and gallery, also have panelled coloured leaded lights. A similar facade extends along North End Road, also with seven bays, an Ionic order, and smaller casements, along with identical exit doors. The corner entrance is distinguished by three double-panelled doors with bevelled glass set between Tuscan columns.

Inside, the entrance foyer features a moulded dentil frieze and thin swags, leading to terrazzo-floored stairs. Doorcases to the stalls and circle entrances incorporate fluted, Egyptian-inspired columns and swags. The auditorium includes a proscenium, an extended stage, and two circles, with the upper circle partially blocked. The square proscenium has a triglyph cornice and a deep cove, flanked by giant Doric columns separating boxes. Above these are urns, pediments, and charioteers pulled by lions. Double doors are on the sides of the balconies; the upper ones are pedimented with a frieze of heads and swags, while the lower ones have engaged Doric columns supporting the serpentine ends of the gallery. Plaster panels and pilasters adorn the side walls, with the upper balcony front in pure Doric style and the lower having more Renaissance detailing. The ceiling is coffered.

The Hippodrome is listed as a rare, largely intact example of a surviving suburban theatre.