Glorious ghosts of yesteryear – in search of London's 'lost' Art Deco cinemas

If you take a stroll along the western end of Hackney Road in east London - and keep going as far as number 211, you wander past a ghost. It is not entirely unlikely that you might find yourself here, heading away from the cool bars that line Shoreditch High Street where these two arterial routes meet - or, perhaps, ambling towards the new restaurants which, for the last five years, have been opening on this busy thoroughfare, closer and closer to Hackney proper. Equally, it is very likely that you may fail to spot the phantom on the kerb - as there is no evidence of it beyond the developers' wooden boards fencing off the site, and the first signs of the new development rising up behind.

But if you feel a tinge of sadness on the air, it is because number 211 was once home to the Odeon Hackney Road - and, as of April 2018, it is not. What was once a colossal, palatial cinema with 1,926 seats will soon be ten-storey block of luxury flats.

The demolition was not without controversy - permission for the building to be torn down was given by Hackney Council in the face of determined calls for it to be given listed status. But then, by the time the bulldozers moved in, the Odeon had also seen far better days. It had opened in July 1939 as one of the wave of Art Deco cinemas constructed across London in the Twenties and Thirties. It was one of 13 created by the architect Andrew Mather at a time - during the golden age of the silver screen, and in an era before every household had a television, let alone smartphones and streaming subscriptions - when the cinema was a focal point of daily life; a community meeting point as well as a source of news and entertainment. It fulfilled this role until May 1961 - when the curtain was drawn across for the last time, and it became a bingo hall.

Many cinemas would take this path as the 20th century progressed and the old high-street titans became obsolete - superseded by multi-screen complexes in out-of-town retail parks, and by TVs on kitchen counters. But 211 Hackney Road was a mould-breaker of sorts - it was the first Odeon to be converted into a Top Rank bingo club.

I am too young to have seen the cinema in its heyday - but I did experience it in its second life, drawn in by a friend's birthday and a search for a night out which dipped into a more traditional London. I did not win at bingo that evening. I was confounded by the speed with which the regulars in the hall reacted to the numbers called on stage - inky markers thumping down on cards with an alacrity that, as a first-timer, I could not muster. But I was also distracted by my surroundings. Many of the Art Deco flourishes put in place by Mather and his team had gone, but the size and the grandeur of the space - enough, once to hold almost 2,000 cinema-goers - was still apparent.

I cannot, of course, complain about the venue's destruction. That evening was my one trip into its cavernous confines - just another local who admired it from afar without contributing to its economic well-being, leaving it vulnerable to redevelopment in an ever-changing city with a housing shortage. And while I feel a pang of melancholy every time I travel down Hackney Road, and see the gap where the Odeon once stood, I - and anyone else who feels similarly nostalgic - can console myself with the knowledge that many of London's arthouse jewels of the last century still exist. Not all of them are cinemas (indeed, most of them are not), and several have been radically altered. But it you look at the map of the capital carefully, they are not so hard to spot.

As a note, the following list is not only London-only, but it is not exhaustive. There are omissions - some which you, personally, may cherish. But this should be taken not as an indication of a paucity of research, but as evidence of just how many of these vast gems were crafted at a time when the cinema was a centrepoint of daily life in Britain.

Still going

Odeon Leicester Square

No article about London's Art Deco cinemas could be complete without mention of Oscar Deutsch. He was the British businessman who founded the Odeon chain, with a vision of putting one of his grand entertainment behemoths in every town. He largely succeeded - by 1937, 250 of them had opened across the country. The Odeon on the east side of Leicester Square - which appeared in the same year - was designed as the flagship. Eight decades on, it still is. It has been modified over time - a modernisation in 1967 removed some of its original features; a rethink in 1998 put some of them back. But it retains its original scale - and it was sensitively renovated again last year (see odeon.co.uk/cinemas/london_leicester_square_odeon_luxe/105).

Rio Cinema, Dalston

There were many silver-screen institutions built in London in the early 20th century - not all of them Odeons. This jewel on Kingsland High Road (riocinema.org.uk) in east London opened in 1915 - having been designed by George Coles, the architect who would become a prolific creator of Art Deco cinemas. Initially known as the Kingsland Empire, and fashioned in a "late Edwardian neo-classical fashion", it gained its Art Deco trappings when it was refurbished in 1937. It has been through several name changes since, and suffered bomb damage in the war, but has always operated as a cinema. Its Art Deco interior was restored in 1997 - two years before it was granted Grade II-listed status.

Everyman Cinema, Muswell Hill

Another one of George Coles's babies, what is now the Everyman (everymancinema.com/muswell-hill) opened as an Odeon cinema in 1936. Its entry on the Historic England database of significant structures explains that, due to objections from the church next door (St James's; also still there), the structure's exterior was left deliberately unflamboyant, so as not to lure worshippers from the pews. But this approach bore fruit inside. "The Odeon, Muswell Hill, [has] the most elaborate interior of any Odeon cinema to survive," it reads. "Because of the restrictions placed on the external facade, the opportunity was taken to make the interior more lavish than was usual in the Odeon circuit. The result is an elegant design of unusual imagination and crispness." It was given listed status in 1984.

Dominion Cinema, Harrow

Wander past this undramatic structure on Station Road in Harrow, and you would not guess that it is an Ugly Duckling in reverse. Its unlovely metal cladding was first stuck to the front in 1962 - and still hides what is one of the greatest examples of Art Deco beauty in London; a marvel of copious curves confected by the architect Frank Ernest Bromige. It opened in January 1936 with seating for 2,500 paying customers. What was the Dominion Cinema would be taken over by the ABC and Cannon groups as the 20th century progressed. It also dabbled in bingo. Since 1995, it has been the Safari Cinema (safaricinema.com), specialising in Bollywood blockbusters, while sharing its space with a church.

Now a music venue

Hammersmith Apollo

One of London's most famous and feted gig venues, what is now officially the Eventim Apollo (eventimapollo.com) was the Gaumont Palace when it opened as a cinema in 1932. It was hosting major music acts even before it was renamed the "Hammersmith Odeon" in 1962. Buddy Holly took to its stage in 1958 - his last performances in the UK. The Beatles would follow, playing 38 shows over 21 nights in 1964 and 1965. Most notably, it was at this very venue that David Bowie gave his final performance as his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, on July 3 1973. Echoes of its original purpose remain. The Compton pipe organ which was part of the fittings in 1932 was restored to functioning order in 2007.

London Forum, Kentish Town

Another institution of London's live-music scene first opened as a cinema in 1934. It later became a dancehall called the Forum - and in the Eighties it became a 2,100-capacity concert venue known as the "Town & Country Club". It retains this role (though not the name) today (academymusicgroup.com/o2forumkentishtown), but its original purpose is still visible in the Art Deco friezes which give the auditorium a gilded grandiosity, no matter who is on the stage.

Savoy Cinema, Dalston

A near-neighbour of the Rio, the Savoy Cinema was built by the architect William R. Glen, and was completed in 1936. Although it briefly reopened after an initial closure in 1977, it gradually slumped into delapidation, and had been largely unused since the mid-Nineties when the decision was taken to revitalise it as a music hub. Following a £600,000 renovation, it reemerged last year, initially as Hackney Arts Centre, then as the slightly clunkily-titled EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney; earthackney.co.uk). The unwieldiness of the name does not disguise the beauty of the original auditorium, which still stands proud.

The Troxy, Stepney

The Troxy (troxy.co.uk) was the largest cinema in the country when it opened in 1933, capable of holding 3,520 paying customers. It was known as a high-end experience, with cushioned seating, a revolving stage, in-house restaurants - and a spot-lit organ which emerged from the orchestra pit to play tunes during the interval. Unsurprisingly, this was another of Coles's creations. It closed as a cinema in 1960 - but its size and shape was such that the Royal Opera House used it as a performance space between 1963 and 1990. It also served as a bingo hall between the early Eighties and 2005. It became a gig venue in 2006, and has thrived on this basis ever since. And it still has an organ. This is not, admittedly, the original instrument, which was dismantled when the Troxy shut as a cinema. This is an even larger slab of antiquity which escaped the demolition of the Trocadero Cinema in Elephant and Castle, in 1963. It was installed in 2015.

Now a theatre

Apollo Victoria

Opening as the New Victoria Cinema in October 1930, what is now the Apollo (theapollovictoria.com) has been a giant London landmark, standing opposite the entrance to Victoria Station, for nine decades. It was initially tied to the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation, which distributed movies in the UK. A popular performance space leading up to the Second World War, it gradually shifted to theatre duties, showing its final films in November 1975. It staged the Andrew Lloyd Webber crowd-pleaser Starlight Express from 1984 to 2002 - and has been host to the Wizard of Oz-related musical Wicked since 2006. Its original grandeur is still visible in its lobby - twin high-canopy entrances giving way to a warmly lit space where sculpted scallop shells rise up the walls to the ceiling.

Now a bingo hall

Granada Tooting

The Granada shone brightly on the south side of the river. Its opening night - September 7 1931 - was so oversubscribed that more than 2,000 people were turned away due to the lack of room. It became a music venue as well as a cinema. The Beatles played here too, in 1965, while the Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra also took to its stage. As did the Bee Gees, who played the Granada's final concert, on April 28 1968. Falling attendances saw it shut as a cinema in 1973, and sit vacant until 1976, when its doors were reopened for bingo. It has maintained this role ever since (see buzzbingo.com/club/tooting.html), and was given Grade I listed status in 2000. The organ, a key facet of the Art Deco cinema, remains.

Under renovation

Carlton Cinema, Islington

Another George Coles masterpiece, this enormous landmark, midway along Essex Road, came with an Egyptian take on Art Deco - Coles having been influenced by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. It opened in 1930 with its ornate facade towering above the street - and was an immediate hit, with a capacity of 2,226. It became a bingo hall in the early Seventies, and resounded to the call of "Legs Eleven" until 2007. After six years of locked doors, it was purchased for transformation into a church - the first phase of the conversion has just been completed. However, what is now called the Gracepoint Centre (gracepointuk.com) has been careful to maintain the soul and structure of the building - and it will be a giant event space for hire, as well as a place of worship.

Time gentlemen, please

Savoy Cinema, Holloway Road

This gargantuan piece of masonry in north-east London is nothing if not a survivor. Designed, like the Savoy in Dalston, by William Glen, it opened in the midst of war on February 5 1940, and stayed in operation as the bombs fell around it. It went through identity changes in the Sixties and Seventies - the latter giving it the "Coronet" name it still bears today - before shutting down with a screening of Blade Runner in 1983. Unlike many of its counterparts, it did not become a bingo hall. Instead, snooker took over in 1984 - a false ceiling was built across the auditorium (the glorious Art Deco space above the balcony being left to pigeons). A near-decade of dereliction ensued between 1987 and 1996, but the latter year marked a reversal of fortune, with the cinema being purchased by JD Wetherspoon. The pub chain has restored the building to something approaching its former glory - and you can now sip a pint in its colossal interior (see jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/the-coronet-holloway).

Gone over to God

Gaumont State Cinema, Kilburn

The sheer scale of many of the Art Deco cinemas of the Thirties would make them ideal for conversion into places of worship once they had lost their initial purpose. That said, the Gaumont State Cinema half-resembled a church to begin with, its high tower rearing tall above Kilburn High Road. It was another Coles classic, finished in 1937, although the architect's inspiration was more metropolitan than divine - the tower is a tribute to the Empire State Building in New York (hence the word "State" in the cinema's name). It was a music venue as well as a cinema - The Who played two seismic shows at the State, which have since been immortalised on DVD as The Who at Kilburn: 1977. It also served time as a bingo hall between the early Eighties and 2007, since when it has been a church (ruachcitychurch.org/locations/kilburn) - which makes use of the cinema's Wurlitzer organ.

Granada Cinema, Woolwich

Even before it opened, the Granada faced competition for customers. It was built by the Granada cinema group at the same time as an Odeon was also being constructed in Woolwich. Both opened in 1937. Visibly austere from the outside, with a plain brick facade, the Granada was a revelation within, with a lavish interior crafted by the British-Russian theatre designer Theodore Komisarjevsky. Enormously popular in the Fifties, it declined quickly in the Sixties (despite the Beatles playing here too), and was a full-time bingo hall as early as 1966. It would maintain this role for longer than it showed movies - for 45 years, until 2011 - but the Grade II listed status it was awarded in 1973 ensured that it was always likely to fend off any threat of demolition. It was bought by a Pentecostal church in 2011 - and is now known as the Ebenezer Building (see cftchurches.org/index.php/about-us/how-to-find-us).

Astoria Theatre, Finsbury Park

It is impossible to miss this giant if you stroll through Finsbury Park - it fills out the triangular space formed by the junction of the Isledon and Seven Sisters Roads. It should be no surprise, then, to discover that it was one of the country's biggest cinemas when it opened in 1930 - able to seat some 3,040 people. Its foyer revelled in Moorish design quirks, including a fountain filled with goldfish (the fountain is still there) - and an auditorium that was meant to resemble an Andalucian village. For all this, the building became more famous once it had switched from being a cinema to a rock venue. It hosted shows in the Sixties - it was on its stage that Jimi Hendrix first set fire to his guitar (on March 31 1967) - before dispensing with all movie screenings in 1971 and being renamed the Rainbow Theatre. The Seventies were as illustrious - the likes of Bowie, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Queen, The Ramones and Bob Marley all held court at the Rainbow - as the Eighties were disastrous, the venue being used for little more than unlicensed boxing matches after the theatre ceased operations in 1981. It was rescued from its unhappy condition in 1995 by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (uckg.org/uk-ireland-locations). This Brazilian Pentecostal group has since conducted a sensitive restoration.

Repurposed

Odeon Well Hall, Eltham

Wedged to the south side of the busy Well Hall Roundabout, the Coronet still looks like an Art Deco cinema. It has that decadent curved entrance which was the signature of many of its contemporaries - a legacy of its birth at the hands of Andrew Mather in 1931. In its prime, it could seat 1,606 people - and it did, regularly, operating as a cinema until the turn of the millennium (from 1981 under the name "Coronet Cinema" - by which it is still better known). However, the year 2000 brought closure, and no clear idea of a future. From 2007 onwards, it was repurposed - with the auditorium being demolished in 2011. The structure is now home to a gym (kinesisgym.co.uk), 53 flats, and a parade of shops, including a supermarket - though its shell remains as an echo of former glory.

No longer with us

Odeon Hackney Road

See above.

Odeon Harlesden

Another fine example of Oscar Deutsch's empire building, this 1,719-seat delight opened in July 1937 on the corner of Craven Park Road and St Albans Road. It followed the well-worn path of London cinemas over the coming decades, closing in 1972, reopening as a Bollywood hotspot, and turning to music for long enough in the Seventies that The Clash trod its boards. Alas, its last incarnation as Tara, an Eighties nightclub, could not reverse its fortunes, and it was demolished in September 1989. All that remains is the name of the apartments which sprouted on the site - Odeon Court.

The ABC, Blackheath

Also known as the Roxy at various points in its history, this south London stalwart was designed by the theatre specialist Bertie Crewe, and burst into life in February 1935. It was notable for the large window which dominated its facade - though it also came to harm in the war, and did not reopen until January 1947. Some might say that it never recovered. Its life was effectively over when it ceased film screenings in 1974. It was demolished in 1981. Its onetime address - 3 Old Dover Road - is now home to a row of shops.