Astoria Theatre
157 Charing Cross Road,
London,
WC2 8EN
157 Charing Cross Road,
London,
WC2 8EN
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favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 59 comments
On 12th February the demolition team seemed to be preparing to cut off the water and power supplies to the buildings, including the Astoria, on the corner of Charing Cross Road.
A few last pictures of the Astoria here:–
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3280155534/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3280155052/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/3280154732/
Great picture.
Jack Goods musical, ‘Elvis’ had a very successful run there as seen in this photo.
By the way the white cover that was over the building recently has now gone and yesterday afternoon the place looked very sad and sorry for itself.
A very sad day for London theatres and London history itself.
A very sad situation for Londons theatreland.
Its coming down in January.
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shocking extent of the redevelopment and additional demolition of a block on oxford street that i think is the big granite deco office block
terrific ariel view taken from the top of Centrepoint
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisits/2915467026/
shows how big a site its going to be, apparently the astoria will be flattened and the space used to store equipment while the new station is built, and then the astoria site will be a new building of shops and offices… what a waste
this development also swallows up the legendary basement nightclub Ghetto situated down the side alley behind the astoria
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/1679425810/
Blood curdling!
Shame on London for letting this go ahead.
13 buildings!!!
that means the entire corner block, this is going to be a huge hole in the ground
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2957377979/
Sickening!
Compulsory purchase procedures are underway prior to total demolition.
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So, another former 70mm Roadshow house is to go!
Sorry to hear that but the best of luck with the fight- its a great building, i’ve walked past many times.
Wolverhampton. Its a Grade II listing from 2000. The application nailed to the door on Thursday seeks permission from the council to demolish “if necessary”. I’ve passed on the details to the CTA for their attention.
Wheres your listed Odeon?
Regarding Ken Roe’s posting on 1st August 2006, I’m collaborating with the owner of the Cinerama.Topcities site as we speak to keep everyone refreshed with new material regarding the roadshow days in the 1960’s of the Astoria,Casino,and Coliseum cineramas(and the Odeon,Marble Arch also).I’m posting up on that site from my collection ads printed on the opening days of each new programme. There’s a new feature on the premiere of Krakatoa at the Astoria on there,(see “what’s new”) and my full-page ad will follow by the end of April.At the moment I’m a bit distracted at the moment by a bid by my local authority to demolish my listed Odeon.
night time shot march 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2311146322/
Shot as the Astoria Theatre here (1978):–
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A series 10 photographs taken in January 2008(click on the forward arrow on the ‘kencta photostream’):
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/2230713287/
At the end of those 10 current photographs, I have added this 1927 view of the auditorium, as seen from the stage:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/2231737794/
There is ample room to build a terrific entrance for a new tube exit/entrance below the theatre at street level. The actual entrance to the theatre is just on a small corner of the building. This latest news is very sad. Why cant developers see what destruction has been done on the same scale as this before. Surely the theatre can be incorporated into the new development. After all, an underground station is ‘underground’ NOT 5 floors above street level.
A couple of interior photos here – apart from the former circle foyer, there is no need to get excited – there is only so much you can do in a black box, with hardly any lights on, with a camera!
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Picture of the corner tower taken in August 2006 here:–
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Vincent…Sorry, I don’t have any photographs of the Astoria in the 1960’s ‘Roadshow’ era. I did go and see several 70mm presentations there: “West Side Story”, “Fall of the Roman Empire”, Paint Your Wagon".
The exterior has not altered over the years, apart from in the days of 70mm presentations there was a large billboard which covered most of the exterior of the building. Inside, the Italian Renaissance style decoration was retained in the foyer areas (helping set an atmosphere when Fall of the Roman Empire had its World Premier at the Astoria, for which it had a redecoration), but in the auditorium, most of the decoration was covered in drapes (typical of what they did to theatres in the 1960’s). It was always a prestigious first run cinema during this period, but when the 70mm product dried up, it became an also run cinema in the West End, even playing dubbed foreign movies, sub-standard horror movies and even the occasional soft core sex film. The owners (The Rank Organisation) wanted rid of the place and booked in this type of product so that it would be yet another closure.
Don’t talk to me about the Thatcher revolution, that woman? practically destroyed the UK (in more ways than one), together with successive governments! I agree with you totally, but I still live here in the city(almost 40 years now)!
To Ken Roe,
Any photos of the front of the house when it was a road show theater? It looks like it was one of the best in London. The tearing down of the wonderful exterior is one of the reasons I never want to return to this city. Since the thatcher revolution the Londoners have destroyed what Hitler didn’t.
When I see photos of the skyline with all the steel office buildings rising in the midst of so many beautiful neighborhoods it is heartbreaking.
The Astoria Theatre building has been sold for nearly 24 Million Pounds sterling to Derwent Valley a specialist Central London property and investment outfit. It has been rumoured that the developer plans to turn the concert/club venue into shops and flats.
The famous G-A-Y gay nightclub which has operated within the building for the past 20 years is owned by the Mean Fiddler Group, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Entertainment U.K. Recent acts to appear on G-A-Y club nights have been Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Girls Aloud and Sugar Babes.
It remains unclear how long G-A-Y will continue to operate at the Astoria.