The Astoria

The Astoria

A nightclub originally built as a cinema in 1920-21 for Portsmouth Cinemas Ltd, designed by the local architect A E Cogswell and constructed by Frank Privett. The building is constructed of brick with render and features an elaborate roof of onion domes.

Exterior

The street facade is symmetrical and executed in Indian Moghul style, crowned by an exotic roofline. A bulbous central onion dome, flanked by smaller flattened domes, surmounts a stepped-up central portion of the facade that rises above lower wings. This central section contains a large window with a stylised Islamic arched top set within a shallow squared niche. The lower wings have vertical sections which break forward at the facade ends and are embellished with pilasters. These sections feature vertical rectangular windows set in recessed areas and tall narrow slit windows between the pilasters. A cornice frieze runs along the entire facade, with the middle portion decorated with niches. Surmounting the vertical end sections are octagonal colonnaded and domed pavilions, all topped by pinnacles. Below the vertical rectangular windows is plasterwork decoration consisting of half-moons and star motifs with rosettes at their centres. The three central windows are fitted with leaded glazing.

The lower portion of the facade displays a more Western character. The slit windows at the sides have decorative balconies with iron balustrades of baroque form, and there is a segmental pediment over a lead canopy. The tympanum inside the pediment originally displayed the cinema's name. The main entrance is located beneath the lead canopy and features Islamic decoration in the corners of its arch. Flanking this entrance are shallow niches with half-pilasters and quasi-Islamic decoration in their tops. Arts and Crafts style hood mouldings crown the emergency exit doors at the facade extremities.

Interior

The auditorium is unusual in that the screen was originally positioned behind the entrance and has not been relocated, as was commonly done in cinemas of this period. Entry is via a narrow foyer. The interior has been substantially altered for nightclub use, although the shape of the ceiling survives and the raking underside of the balcony remains visible. The stairs to the balcony on the left side of the auditorium, possibly designed for the orchestra, survive together with a relieving arch on the half landing.

Historical Context

This is one of the most outstanding buildings by A E Cogswell, a significant local architect who served in the First World War in India. His firsthand experience of Indian architecture informed the Moghul style adopted for this building. The cinema opened on 21 February 1921, with the Mayor, Councillor John Timpson, describing it as "one of the most opulent of local picture palaces". Although distinctive in its motifs, the facade arrangement with its strong central feature is typical of Cogswell's work. The building exemplifies the established tradition of using exotic styles for entertainment buildings—comparable to the mid-nineteenth-century Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square (demolished 1936). While such treatment is not unique, it remains unusual and few examples of this type have survived. The Astoria forms a significant entertainment group with the grade II* listed Theatre Royal opposite.