The Princess (on a site in front of the present town hall) and the Luxor (on what is now Marlowes a bit further towards the Odeon from Bank Court).
And No! I don’t remember them!
There was also a much older cinema called (I think) the Aero which was somewhere up near W H Smiths at the end of Marlowes in Albion Hill. The Luxor took the Aero name from opening in 1926 until sound was installed in 1930.
The Luxor closed first (in 1960 6 months before the Odeon opened) and the Princess in 1962. Both were compulsorily purchased for the building of Hemel Hempstead New Town.
Conran – I am wary of placing an e-mail address on a public forum so I have set up this temporary address
.uk
send me a message and I can reply using a permanent one! I am by no means up-to-speed but I have been agitating regarding the Palace already.
Ian
commented about
Spa Theatreon
Aug 18, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I had hoped to be invited back for a progress press event by now, but as you say it has gone quiet! When I was there the screen was still intact in the tower, but the 3 screen Forum (dreadful venue) seems to have sapped the market for films from the Spa. From what I saw of the renovations, film is not a consideration when it reopens.
The Princess (on a site in front of the present town hall) and the Luxor (on what is now Marlowes a bit further towards the Odeon from Bank Court).
And No! I don’t remember them!
There was also a much older cinema called (I think) the Aero which was somewhere up near W H Smiths at the end of Marlowes in Albion Hill. The Luxor took the Aero name from opening in 1926 until sound was installed in 1930.
The Luxor closed first (in 1960 6 months before the Odeon opened) and the Princess in 1962. Both were compulsorily purchased for the building of Hemel Hempstead New Town.
Sorry – trying to be clever and launch a larger image of the first one, not realising that you need Yahoo registration to see it!
For non-yahoo registered folk this is the smaller sized image:–
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A few more interior shots of this large un-divided cinema / theatre:–
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Two exterior shots from August 2007 here:–
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Night shot of the exterior here:–
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August 2007 exterior picture here:–
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A couple more pics here:
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A few more exterior pictures here:–
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Another couple of photos of the Opera House here
Exterior:-
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Interior:-
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Another view of the former cinema here:–
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The original proscenium was used with a smaller screen installed in it. Not very satisfactory!
Three photos from 1989 here when it was operating as a bingo hall:–
Exterior:
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Auditorium:
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Three photos from 1987 here:–
Exterior:
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Auditorium:
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Organ:
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Two vintage photos of the Mayfair – when it was single screen cinema – here:–
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The Empire / Hippodrome was demolished in 2007.
An old image from 1973 here:
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And an exterior from 1975 here:–
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A photo taken around 1972 here:–
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A photo dating to just before the Odeon was tripled in 1975 here:–
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or a personal message facility!
Conran – I am wary of placing an e-mail address on a public forum so I have set up this temporary address
.uk
send me a message and I can reply using a permanent one! I am by no means up-to-speed but I have been agitating regarding the Palace already.
I had hoped to be invited back for a progress press event by now, but as you say it has gone quiet! When I was there the screen was still intact in the tower, but the 3 screen Forum (dreadful venue) seems to have sapped the market for films from the Spa. From what I saw of the renovations, film is not a consideration when it reopens.
Photos of the Philharmonic Hall can be found here:–
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A photo of the art deco circle foyer here:–
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A photo of the former Canton, as a supermarket, here:–
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A photo of a different facade of the theatre here:–
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