Cannon Basingstoke

A hidden wonder of the town of Basingstoke. Now gone, it was once the best known and loved cinema of the town’s history.

Opened as the Waldorf Cinema on 28th October 1935 with Fred Astaire in “Roberta”. There were a total of 863 seats located in stalls and circle. It was taken over by the Union Cinemas chain from 18th March 1937. and in October that year by Associated British Cinemas(ABC) who had taken over Union. The cinema was equipped with a large cafe/restaurant, located at first floor level and this also doubled as a ballroom. There was a free car park at the rear which could acommodate 250 cars.

Closed in June 1977 for conversion to a twin screen cinema it re-opened as the ABC 1 & 2 on 15th September 1977 with seating capacities in the two screens for 420 and 218. It was taken over by the Cannon Group in 1986 and was closed on 21st February 1991 with Jean-Claude Van Damm in “Death Warrant” and left derelict.

The building was demolished in August 1999.

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