Dominion Cinema
112 The Green,
Southall,
UB2 4BQ
112 The Green,
Southall,
UB2 4BQ
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Associated British Cinemas Ltd.
Architects: Frank Ernest Bromige
Styles: Art Deco
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Located in Southall, Middlesex, in the west of today’s Greater London. The Dominion Cinema was opened on 14th October 1935 with John Beal in "Laddie" and Elizabeth Bergner in "Escape Me Never". It was built for the small independent circuit of Abraham Goide and his partner Glassman. Designed by architect Frank Ernest Bromige, the facade was spectacular and included a slender fin-tower feature. It was even more beautiful especially at night when the gentle curves and rounded windows were illuminated by back-lighting and strips of neon tubing.
The Dominion Cinema was equipped with a 60 feet wide proscenium opening, a stage 22 feet deep and there were six dressing rooms for use when variety performances were held as part of the programmes. There was also a cafe and a ballroom incorporated into the building.
It was taken over by Associated British Cinemas(ABC) on 10th February 1936 and they operated it until it was closed on 27th January 1962 with Dirk Bogarde in "The Wind Cannot Read" and Audie Murphy in "To Hell and Back".
It was converted into a bingo hall for a few years, but films returned when due to the large Asian population coming into the area there was a need to screen Indian ‘Bollywood’ films. This ceased in around 1979 and the building lay empty and unused until 1982 when it was demolished. The Dominion Community Centre was built on the site. By January 2018 this had become Southall Library.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Just curious why do comments keep getting deleted from this cinemas page.Including this one I expect.
Jason, I have no idea where comments have gone. As the sites volunteer theatre editor, I have the ability to go behind the scenes, so to speak, and your comment above is the only one listed for this theatre.
Here are a set of vintage photographs of the Dominion Cinema, Southall:
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Thanks Ken for responding,it was the second time that all this theatres comments had been wiped, hopefully the problem won’t repeat itself.
It would be interesting to know what the building looked like INSIDE during the final years, considering what it looked like OUTSIDE. It’s amazing to think that a building in that state could still be open.
English films did return briefly in the late 1970’s for Saturday morning children’s performances.Also Mrs Ghandi the indian prime minister on a visit to Southall gave a press conference here around the same time as did her predecessor.
The 1982 Dominion Centre is now the new home to Southall Library.