Palladium Cinema

Located in the south London district of Balham. The Balham Palladium Picture Playhouse opened in 1914. It was located on the High Road at the corner of Oakmead Road, adjacent to Balham Railway Station.

It was taken over by General Theatre Company(GTC) in May 1928, and they closed the building for enlargment and improvements which were carried out to the designs of noted cinema architect Cecil Masey. One big improvement was an enlarged stage, which allowed for more theatrical presentations. By the end of 1928, GTC had been taken over by the Gaumont British Theatres chain. Therefore Gaumont now operated two cinemas in Balham, the Palladium Cinema and the Pavilion Cinema further along the High Road.

The Palladium Cinema was badly damaged by German bombs in September 1940, and 68 people were killed (Balham Railway Station was also hit). The Palladium Cinema was closed and never re-opened. The remains of the building was demolished in the 1950’s and a small office block was built on the site named Station House. In 2009 the building on the site was known as Steel House, and it was heavily altered in 2012 to be converted into a Travelodge Hotel.

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