The Grosvenor Cinema – Art Deco splendour inside The Zoroastrian Centre at Rayners Lane

The gorgeous Grosvenor Cinema cinema opened in October 1936, as part of the Gaumont chain, situated on Alexandra Avenue, a stone's throw from Rayners Lane tube station. Indeed, the whole area is an Art Deco fan's dreamworld being as it forms part of 1930's era Metroland. I first experienced the interior of this marvellous movie theatre during Open House Weekend in September 2016 as part of a guided tour. We heard all about the building and learned about the Zoarastrian faith. I really enjoyed ever aspect of the tour and I resolved to keep an eye out for an opportunity to revisit the building. 

In March this year I was delighted to be able to join other London Appreciation Society members for another guided tour.

As you enter the building from Alexandra Avenue you enter the foyer. This was originally designed as a sunken café area and the church still uses it as such. They had put out a lot of info boards for us to look at showing how the building and the local area had evolved through the decades and the pic above shows how this space looked back in 1986. I noticed that part of the geometric pattern in the metalwork that encloses this area looks like JL – perhaps I could use as my avatar!

The ceiling here is stunning:

Stairs at the front of the building, allow light from the street and lead you up to the auditorium...

...which brings you to the back of the circle and excellent view of the undulating ceiling, today spotted with modern ceiling lights and fans, although the original effect is not lost.

And here's a wide shot I took inside the auditorium back in 2016:

Find out more about the history of this cinema here where I've just noticed the main pic is practically same as mine! 

Holloway Odeon update (part2) – new renovation revealed in all its slap-dash glory

Earlier this year I wrote a post about how I was far from happy with the new logo and its placement on Holloway Odeon, my local cinema, a building which has been undergoing renovations this past year or so.
On Thursday I was walking up Holloway Road and, as I turned into Tufnell Park Road, I looked up and and exclaimed "Wow" out loud as I saw the gleaming façade finally revealed.

Holloway Odeon, 2020 renovation, main tower and entrance on the Tufnell Park Road side

A man heard me and stopped and stared at me, grinning. I thought that he thought the 'wow' was directed at him, but no. I spoke to him and he introduced himself as David Latter, the architect of the building. I wondered if Howard Crane the actual architect of the building back in 1938 would have been pleased to hear someone taking the credit, but nevertheless engaged David in conversation and we chatted about the renovation which he was clearly very pleased about. I commended him on the removal of the blue paint on the metal windows which have been stripped and painted black and the reinstatement of the restaurant area there. I made mention of my knowledge of the history of the building and I also made comment about those nasty logo panels, but it was clear from his expression he didn't really get my point. He told me his company works on lots of revamped cinemas round the country and he gave me his business card. I also briefly met his assistant who was unchaining his bike from a nearby lamp post. David urged me to go inside to view the interior.
I crossed the road to take a closer look. I couldn't get inside as it's not yet open to the public, but the interior does indeed look better designed. That can wait for another day. Instead I wandered around the outside at studied the renovation at street level.
Oh dear, what a disappointment.
From a distance it looks marvellous, but get up close and it's slapdash, shoddy workmanship. I cannnot believe with all the products and processes available today that better results cannot have been achieved. Most of the lovely original faience tiles have been painted. I think on the upper sections shown above that a layer of varnish has been added as no way way was it ever that shiny before. However, other areas at ground level have been overpainted in a strange yellow tone that is not the same as the pale terracotta originals that have stood the test of time for over 80 years. That might have been Ok had the paintwork not been so messy – wires have been painted over without any idea of realigning them, edges are not straight, there are patches of overpainting, holes and defects have not been repaired. Yet the original tiles are still filthy, hinting that this new paint has been applied over years of dirt. New additions such as the canopy are mis-aligned and far from curved with cut and breaks and gaps where they bend and abut other areas.
Basically, if they could achieve an impressive, or even just adequate, standard of workmanship in the 1930s, why is it not possible today? Quality control or pride in one's work does not seem to be important these days.
See the evidence below.

The new window frames look marvellous but the black-edged canopy above street level has frilled edges

More views of the canopy along the Tufnell park Road side – juddery curves and wobbly straights

Silky reflective paintwork over the tiles along the TufPkRd side already has has patches of repair. And under the canopy by the main door at the corner a strip has been cut to go round old wires that feed through an air brick. These wires are probably not even functional any longer. Note also how the thin strip veers away from the wall and has been snipped to make it bend back again. Was this really the most effective way to do this?!

Canopy at the corner over the main entrance. The two curved sections have a gap between them and where the white ceiling panels meet the wall they are not cut at the correct angle, leaving thin triangular holes. Also note other bits of wire that could have been tidied up, plus dodgy curved [black] edges and filthy original tiles etc.

Canopy at main door. The curve on the underneath is not a curve – surely there are products available that can achieve a soft arc? Are there no artisans who can produce better quality results with the materials at hand? And, on the front on the right hand side of the main canopy, there is vertical gap, though strangely not parallel, where the panels do not meet. And again, more of those snips in the curves. Is this a literal/visual example of "cutting corners"?

Along the Holloway Road side it appears the renovation proper ends as all that is is in evidence is a bit of shoddily applied paint at ground level and some new panels that I had assumed were temporary but now fear are permanent seeing as the cinema opens up next week. Couldn't they at least have cleaned the original tiles and sympathetically repaired all the damage caused by previous panels and fixings? 

The northern section of the building on Holloway Road. Some bits painted, some bits not, more painted wires, more dirty tiles and unrepaired defects, ends of bits of newly-applied wood, and at the very end, a horrible patchwork corner. This side of the building was originally designed as shops interspersed with doors that provided access to cinema waiting areas below. This negated people having to queue in the rain and reduced congestion on the busy pavement. The area above the green line was a terrace that provided alfreco seating for the restaurant. It really seems like this part of the building has been deemed by Odeon to be of little imporatnce, yet it is a long swathe facing an important A-road – now the messiest part of the building is seen by the most people.

An elephantine enigma – what a load of tripe

I recently asked help with any information about this little building that used to be at 18 Market Road, N7, mid-way on the north side between The White Horse (Gin Palace) and Caledonian Rd.

As you can see below, when I took a photo in 2008, it had dancing trumpeting elephants on the front. I had wondered if it had been a theatre or something similar.

My pic from June 2008

It has since been replaced – see Google Streetview 2008 and click though to see that it had been demolished by 2012. 

Kelly's 1939 directory

Joe, a friend who grew up in the area, told me he recalls it as The Electric Cinema or similar. But I can't find it mentioned in Chris Draper's Islington Cinemas and Film Studios book. 
Further sleuthing in the Kelly's street directory of 1939 (right) shows J. L. Henson, tripe dresser at this address. The company must have been here pre WWII but I can see nothing listed in 1915 and 1895.
Hmmm. Ponder, ponder.
And then recently I met Alan. He's another person who is always looking up, looking down, and questioning things.
Alan tells me that in the 1970s he worked in this building when it was Otaco Ltd. He tells me that the empty meat-related buildings in the area were taken over at that time mostly by businesses related to the motor trade. 

Photo: Alan, ex-OtacoLtd employee, 1970s

He also directed me to a pic of the building in 1962-4 that clearly shows the signage for the tripe factory: 

J. L. Henson also had premises at 97 Charterhouse Street, opposite the northeast corner of Smithfield meat market

As you can see, there were no elephants in the 1960s or 1970s.
The black and white pic is available from a few online photo libraries and In all instances it is credited to English Heritage with John Gay as 'artist'. All tag this pic as 26-40 Vale Royal, Holloway, which is just down the hill off York Way and certainly not part of Holloway! This is a great example of people just copying and pasting info without checking things. 
My 1939 directory shows that Edmund Martin Ltd*, another tripe dresser, was at 22-46 Vale Royal. but Henson did indeed have premises there but not until 1962 when they vacated the Market Road premises as shown here in a document about offensive trading. The link also indicates that Henson had an unauthorised fat melting site in Hornsey Rd near the junction of Tollington Park – that's a stone's throw from my home – ugh!
I can find no info about about Truman Steven/s as shown in this 1960s pic.

So, enough of all this tripe – back to the elephantine enigma. When did the trumpeting beasts appear?
I have a few ideas...
1. If Henson's factory was converted into a theatre/cinema, as my mate Joe recalls, then it couldn't have been until the mid-60s and only for a short while; possibly for a decade until the motor trade moved in. 
2. Or perhaps the elephants were added in the 1980s after the car companies moved away? The buildings would have again been standing derelict and could have been put to good use. Consider that there are playgrounds and sports facilities opposite = lots of children. Perhaps it was at this time that the building was used as a temporary cinema and this is when the elephants were added (children like dancing animals and the ref to a tripe factory might have been obscured to avoid offence and confusion).
3. Or (and here's my latest idea) it might have been used as a film location?

Alan tells me has some other leads to investigate and will get back to me...
Watch this space
All help welcome.

*You might recall that Edmund Martin Ltd had a shop on Lindsey Street ,facing the eastern side of Smithfield market, was demolished to make way for The Elizabeth Line. Boo hoo. Next door was a marvellous Miami-style 1930s building, also demolished, which I am going to be featuring Smithfield Art Deco walking tour, coming soon.

The Marlborough Theatre, Holloway

A marvellous theatre, designed by the prolific Mr Frank Matcham and built in 1903, used to stand in Holloway Road on the west side of the street, almost opposite M&S.
I was recently alerted to a short film on the Talking Pictures TV channel showing the building just before it was demolished sixty years later in 1963.
The movie is less than five minutes long and isn't the best quality. However, I managed to snap a few stills with my camera and put this together:

The tall building that now stands in its place is called The Marlborough Building in memory of the theatre and the row of villas that used to stand adjacent to it.
If you'd like to find out more about the theatre and what the Holloway Nag's Head are was like in 1903 then (plug! plug! plug!) why not come along on my walk?

The film also includes some street scenes of Holloway Road looking north; cars and buses and what not:

Brixton Windmill

Did you know there is a fully-functioning windmill in the back streets of Brixton within the aptly named Windmill Park?

A windmill has stood on this site since 1816. This is one of only a handful left standing in London. The bonus is that this mill, rather than having been turned into living space, or similar, produces an excellent finely-ground flour which is available to buy in the adjacent cafe. Also available; tours, events, arty things, children's activities and more besides – see here

On the streets nearby I spotted some other these nice things:

The side of the old Ace cinema, a lovely decorative street sign for Blenheim Gardens, a simpler one along Brixton Hill where a stretch of shops was known as The Pavement, and layers of faded and peeling red paint on a pillar box.

Why is the UK still knocking down historic cinemas?

That's the heading on this article from BBC News.
Well I don't know.
Of the London cinemas that remain but are no longer used for their orginal purpose many have been gutted and used for other things. The only ones that seem to have retained their interiors are now being used as churches or pubs. Many others are now converted into shops or other businesses and oly hints of their once sparkling past can be seen on the street-facing façades.

Top: Essex Rd, Finsbury Park, Leyton
Middle: Edgware Rd, Acton, Holloway
Bottom: Stratford, Westbourne Grove, Hoxton

Top: Lea Bridge Rd, Bruce Grove, Bethnal Green
Middle: Dalston, Oval, Willesden
Bottom: Walthamstow, Kilburn, Camden

Many more architecturally interesting London cinemas have been reduced to rubble over the decades, mostly since the 1970s. And, to me, it just beggars belief that the developers didn't at least retain the ornate façades or re-use some of the lovely bricks and tiles. (Note to self: Rein it in Jane, you about to start ranting about modern glass architecture with a projected lifespan of 15 years...whoa!)
Seeing as everything these days, films, music, etc., is available as downloads, or on demand, for how long will the few magnificent palaces that remain, some of which I show below, still stand?

Top: Shaftesbury Ave, Dalston, Holloway
Bottom: Brixton, Leicester Square x2

My two favourite cinemas used to sit adjacent to each other in Camden. 

The Parkway was a lovely old Art Deco cinema with a red dralon seats and just two screens. I particularly recall seeing Oliver Stone's JFK on the big screen there in 1991 whilst munching on a box of Maltesers. The small above the ticket office showed independent films and there was a piano on the first floor next to the confectionery and drinks counter and very often someone was tinkling the ivories before the film began. I am pretty sure that I read that John Boorman used the cinema when filming parts of Hope and Glory. There is a great scene when the lad who is the lead in the film can be seen leaning forward in the first row of the circle transfixed by the film he is watching.

The cinema was gutted and modernised just prior to the last offensive about saving our old cinemas. Really bad timing and such a sad loss. 

The Camden Plaza around the corner, opposite the tube station, showed art house films and was simpler inside, but I recall the small entrance lobby/ticket hall was wood panelled, almost Tudor in design. At one point the cinema formed part of the Gaumont chain (later Odeon) and a pic of the faded sign on the side of the building is shown below.

It's just occurred to me that many long gone cinemas gave their names to the junction on which they sat* as in the case of The Savoy Cinema in Acton (Savoy Circus). I used to drive past it often in the late 1990s and I just took it for granted. Then hoardings went up around it and very soon there was a big empty space. It stood empty like a barren wasteland for years. Below are some comparison pics. Amazingly I cannot find any older pics than these from 1971.

Top left approx mid 80s. Top right: late 90s I think (note the blocked up doors)
Bottom: 2009 and the plans for the site today

Lots of great pics and info about demolished London cinemas can be found here – click the tabs under the map to see other categories.

*I have often wondered whether there was a cinema called The Apex at Apex Corner. I have so far drawn a blank about where this name come from. Or possibly there was a shop? Whatever it was, it's now long gone. Londonist wrote a piece about the naming of road junctions a while back... does anyone out there have any more info?

A Walk Along Kings Road

The groovy shops and cafés of the King's Road in its 1960s heyday have all disappeared but there are a few interesting details along the street that hint at this might have once been a road fit for a king.

Starting at the corner of Sydney Street by Habitat and walking east towards Sloane Square... 

The Curzon Cinema and some of its Art Deco details 

Opposite Habitat and the cinema there's Chelsea Town Hall, the Scottish Methodist Church and a lovely Shoe Repairers' sign
And then there's 'Antiquarius' the lovely Grade II listed Arts and Crafts billiards hall constructed by The Temperance Movement*. By the second half of the twentieth century the balls had been packed away and the building had been converted into small retail spaces, home to many boutique shops and antique dealers. These days it houses some big name High Street brands.  

Actually, I think I'll save the rest of this walk for some future posts.

Meanwhile check out this link about Kings Road in the 1960s.

* Ha ha... hope you enjoyed that diversion.
Here's a link to the 'correct' Temperance Movement.

Accentuate the positive – three nice things on the No.19 bus route

The nicest way to get from Finsbury Park to Battersea Bridge (north side) is to relax and enjoy the view from the top deck of a No.19 bus as it cuts a diagonal path through London taking in Islington, Clerkenwell, Bloomsbury, Piccadilly, Knightsbridge and Chelsea.
There are lots of lovely things to see along the way. Here are just three of them:

Rosebery Avenue

Theobalds Road

Shaftesbury Avenue

Three nice things – a new series by Jane's London

The Cinema Museum

Tucked away in what's left of Lambeth's Old Workhouse is an Aladdin's cave of pre digital film and picture palace ephemera called The Cinema Museum.
This private, not for profit, charitable museum is the on-going life's work of Ronald Grant, ably assisted by Martin Humphries.
Ronald's passion for all things cinematic began when he was a child and, just like the boy in Cinema Paradiso, he sat with his local projectionist, gradually picking up the tricks of the trade that would form the first part of his working life at cinemas in his native Aberdeen. Over the decades he has collected all sorts of wonderful cinematic items, thus saving them from destruction or landfill. I was shocked to learn that it was actually Odeon's policy when selling their lovely old buildings not to allow items to be taken or resold for salvage; eveything was destroyed. It hardly bears thinking about. I think that's worse than the wanton vandalism that took place inside Islington's Carlton Cinema a few years back. AlthoughI ham heartened by this information about a project for renovation in conjunction with a proposed new glass building at the rear (oh gawd, here we go again).
Where was I?
Ronald and Martin have managed to salvage a lot of wonderful gems from the much-missed cinema palaces of yesteryear. You'll find posters, projectors, lenses, cannisters, signage, textiles, uniforms and more. They also show films in the mini cinema. On Saturday we were treated to four gems including 'The Last Tram', a film about, you've guessed it; London's last tram ride (excerpt here). I thought it was a rather poignant choice seeing as we were watching it via a process that isn't used any more (film) in a museum dedicated to an old way of life that is also practically deceased.
Picture palaces used to employ a large uniformed staff and be packed full all day, with more people queuing round the block. Then, once inside, they'd join a film perhaps half way through, not really understanding what was going on until the film came back on again hours later!  
The museum also contains three rooms packed to the ceiling with books, papers, magazines, photos and prints, plus another room stuffed full of filing cabinets containing The Ronald Grant Archive, which helps to fund the museum collection.
At the centre of the building is the old workhouse chapel with its very high ceiling which now used as a cafe and display area. This large space is available to hire for events. Looking up, I noticed a wonderful coincidence – the original roof trusses contain a circular motifs that look just like film cannisters!
Thanks to Caroline for inviting me along. An afternoon well spent.

Gun salutes to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Today is Accession Day and marks 60 years since Liz succeeded the throne after her father, George VI, died in 1952.
The main celebrations will take place in June but today there will be lots of noise at noon... there will be a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park followed by a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London... 
Blimey! That's a lot of noise.
She's 85 you know. Eighty-five!
Here are some gun- and cannon-related things in London.
(I will save my diamond collection for June)

The Fabulous Mr Bridges

Ooh... I should have noticed this earlier... The British Film Institute is putting on a retrospective of one of my favourite film actors.

Not only is the man gorgeous and talented (yes please!), he has been in some brilliant movies... he acted Clint off the screen in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, was superbly understated in The Fabulous Baker Boys, survived in the wonderful Fearless, managed to make pony tails acceptable in The Fisher King and turned dressing gowns into daywear in The Big Lebowski.

I've only just discovered Jeff's website... it's fab... full of music and photos and clips... he just gets more appealing by the minute!

I could have easily put together a collection of bridges but I decided to have more fun with this one... see if you can get identify these 12 films he's been in...

Top: Edgware Rd, Billingsgate, Essex Rd, Millwall Docks.

Middle: Stroud Green, Leytonstone, Crouch End, Walthamstow Village.

Bottom: Kew Gardens, Camden, Westminster, Hackney.

UKCG urging their worshippers to go into debt

I just read this in today's Times...

It seems the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which occupies the old Astoria/Rainbow building in Finsbury Park, is encouraging its congregation not to pay their personal bills so that they will have more money to give to 'God'.

UCKG say that only when people sacrifice all their worldly possessions will their financial prayers be answered. They even offer financial 'help' with this.

It saddens and angers me that this sort of thing is still going on, and less than a mile from my front door.

Read the articles here, though you have to subscribe to the Times site (I will attempt to upgrade this in due course). And here's a 'review' of the church.

The only positive thing I can say about all this is that having a church in residence has meant that the interior of the lovely old cinema has been kept relatively intact. You can wander in and have a look around – just be sure not part with any cash when you are there.

Urban Sightseeing for Londonist

I have just loaded up my latest Urban Sightseeing post for Londonist (see right) about how to travel the world (and the Universe!) without leaving London. Read the full article here.

A montage of the some of the photos I used are shown below.

Clockwise from top left: Greece, The Netherlands, Brazil, outer space, Italy, New Zealand, Alaska and Egypt.

Lots more Art Deco pics

Click here to see all my Urban Sightseeing posts

London Ghost signs

These wonderful ghosted advertisements are mainly to be found on the sides of shops and buildings along old high streets. Here is just a small selection.

A larger collection of my photos of ghost signs, and other things that interest me, can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/janepbr

Shown above are:

Gillette in Commercial Street E1;

Wootons Cash Chemist in Richmond Avenue N1;

tea rooms in Museum Street WC2, Bate's salve ('...cures wounds and sores' which overprints an earlier one for '...Kings citrate the original safe and best') in Regent Square WC1;

The front of a building owned by Miller Beale and Hider Ltd glazing contractor which appears to read 'builders...' over/under another sign I can't quite read in Greenland Road NW1 (I now have better photos of this building and will upload them soon);

Take Courage just west of Borough Market SE1;

Bernard' s mens hosier, hatter (and something else I can't make out) which overprints an earlier sign for P(?) Lewis in Brick Lane E1;

pianos and carpets just off Hornsey Road N7;

Boots in Camden High Street NW1 (you save vouchers by shopping at Boots);

upholsterer's sundries in great Eastern Street EC2;

Key Flats in Caledonian Road N7

Architectural patterns

Patterns, shapes, colours, textures, reflections, geometry, and strange attempts at DIY

A larger collection of my photos can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/janepbr

Architectural motifs

The quirky details that make a building interesting. Again, these are all to be found along the A1 in Islington

A larger collection of my photos can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/janepbr

London Looking up

Next time you are out shopping in Upper Street or Holloway stop staring at the pavement and look up for a change!

A larger collection of my photos can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/janepbr

Arhitectural lettering

These are all along the A1 in Islington

A larger collection of my photos can be found at www.flickr.com/photos/janepbr