Empire Cinema - Ealing

61 New Broadway,
London, W5 5AH

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Woody_London
Woody_London on November 4, 2021 at 1:44 pm

The new Picturehouse actually stands on the footprint of the Walpole and not where the Empire stood which is now retail and apartments

rivest266
rivest266 on May 27, 2021 at 6:32 am

Reopening in Spring 2022 https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/ealings-long-awaited-new-cinema-19968800

After a series of delays to the opening of Ealing Filmworks it is now expected to open in spring 2022, the council has confirmed.

Work has been underway to build the New Broadway cinema since 2016, as well as more than 200 homes, a public square and a range of restaurants and bars.

But the opening date has been pushed back several times, first from an ambition for an early 2019, then pushed back to 2020, and fianlley an expected opening in summer 2021.

Ealing Council bosses are now pledging for the finished site to open in spring 2022.

An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “The construction of Filmworks has continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic despite the challenges of social distancing for the workforce and delays in construction material from the supply chain.

rivest266
rivest266 on May 27, 2021 at 6:29 am

Grand opening ad posted.

Jason Mullen
Jason Mullen on November 2, 2013 at 12:39 pm

Some recent information on plans for this site.

http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2013/september/plans-lodged-for-100m-ealing-film-quarter/

Jason Mullen
Jason Mullen on June 20, 2013 at 10:25 pm

This link gives an update from Empire, how accurate it is I don’t know but hope they are committed to completing this project and one of my favourite cinemas wasn’t lost in vain.

http://www.empirecinemas.co.uk/index.php?page=cinemainfo&tbx_site_id=22

blink
blink on April 18, 2012 at 2:35 am

Alas, Empire Cinemas have still not started work on re-building Ealing’s cinema after closing it nearly 4 years ago for “re-building”. It remains the sad pile of rubble in my avatar photo here.

Ealing residents have started a petition to encourage the council to put pressure on Empire to start work, or to pursue compulsory purchase of the cinema site if Empire won’t start work.

Please could you support the campaign by signing the petition: http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/saveealingcinema

keiths
keiths on July 21, 2010 at 7:10 am

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=72614

This is a link to a British Pathe film about the original building of the cinema. It also contains footage of the side view of the Walpole cinema, which was around the corner.

keiths
keiths on May 6, 2010 at 1:14 am

The original planning approval was dependent on the developers being able to guarantee completion of the project, so this doesn’t surprise me at all. My only concern about the whole thing concerns parking in the Ealing area – becoming virtually non-existent – so where 16 screens worth of punters are going to go is a bit of a puzzle!

LouiseC
LouiseC on May 5, 2010 at 12:25 pm

Still no progress on this cinema other than the frontage being preserved; apparently the council (who are based in the building opposite) have now demanded a completion date for the work to be done.

keiths
keiths on September 21, 2009 at 5:00 am

View link

If the previous link doesn’t work, follow this one and enter ‘cinema uxbridge road’ into the search area at the top of the page

keiths
keiths on September 21, 2009 at 4:55 am

Whilst trawling through the ealing council website on another matter, I found the following link which refers to the planning consent for the new 16 screen cinema. Most interestingly, it shows exactly how big the new development is going to be.

View link

keiths
keiths on July 6, 2009 at 5:08 am

It was the best quality periscope projection I’ve ever seen, as it happens, but the nature of the conversion enabled everything to be pretty ‘square-on’, so the geometry was correct right from the start. Also, unlike a lot of periscope projected screens, the distance between the two mirrors was not great, since ABC1 was the former circle, rather than the former stalls. As an aside, Studios 1 & 2 in Guildford – now demolished – used the original projection area, and both had periscopes, even though you could see screen 2 from the box. The bottom mirror of Studio 1’s periscope was immense, with the resultant loss of quality.

shaniiice
shaniiice on May 6, 2009 at 9:57 am

does anyone know when it’ll be reopened?

moley75
moley75 on May 6, 2009 at 9:44 am

I have uploaded some photos I took today of the Empire.

View link

keiths
keiths on May 5, 2009 at 6:57 am

Having looked at it again, I think the gaping hole, between the two areas of blue at the bottom of the pic, could well be where the bottom mirror of the periscope was mounted. The screen was still pretty large for a tripled theatre.

keiths
keiths on May 5, 2009 at 6:52 am

If you look at the last of these pics, you can JUST make out the original portholes behind the top of the blue cladding. When the former circle became ABC 1, the screen was raised to ‘circle level’ and a periscope projection system erected to raise the picture, which would otherwise have clipped the roof.

woody
woody on April 15, 2009 at 12:48 pm

photos taken april 2009
exterior clad in scaffolding
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3442496747/
close up, you can just see the columns
View link
distance shot of the rear demolished up to the back wall of the circle
View link
same shot from the other side
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3442489541/
close up showing plasterwork detail, that by the look of it was hidden from view
View link
View link
very little left of the balcony, the square hole in the middle must have been the stairs up to the circle? no sign of where the projection box was, the original must be being the blue cladding?
View link

LouiseC
LouiseC on April 10, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Demolition is going very well I think. Frontage looks intact behind scaffolding and everything behind it has now gone. Old frontage of Walpole Picture House (currently in Thames Valley University car park on a wall) is likely to be incorporated in new complex in some way.

keiths
keiths on March 28, 2009 at 5:28 pm

Here are three photos taken on 27th March 2009, showing the present state of the site.

View link

keiths
keiths on February 27, 2009 at 4:15 am

I used to attend Saturday morning pictures in the early 1960’s for 6d a week – that’s 6 old pence for those born post 1971 – at which time the cinema was known as ‘The ABC Forum’, and was signed accordingly. When Virgin took it on for a while, they spent £1M doing it up. I had a holiday job as a projectionist at the Walpole around the corner, and we were always jealous that the ABC operated with 4000ft changeovers, rather than the 2000ft that we had. My wife and I went to see ‘ABBA The Movie’ in screen 1 during a fuel shortage, and were offered a refund if we couldn’t tolerate the extreme cold for the length of the programme. Happy days…………

Cinefan
Cinefan on September 24, 2008 at 11:13 am

So, any thoughts on the closure and multiplexing of this site?

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on September 8, 2008 at 5:05 am

A set of five vintage photographs of the ABC in the late-1960’s/early 1970’s:
View link

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on December 27, 2007 at 6:02 pm

My April 11, 2007 photo:
View link
I saw “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” in the main auditorium upstairs in former balcony. The lobby, upstairs foyer, and main auditorium all were ornate. The auditorum ceiling dome is especially wonderful. Inlaid wood doors are a nice touch. I like curtains, but they did not use a curtain before the movie screen. I hope the interior survives intact with many more movies shown over time.