Arcadia Cinema

Built as horse stables for Mr. Tilley’s horse drawn omnibus company and was then converted into a garage. In 1907 it was let to a fairground animated picture operator. In 1910 it became the People’s Picture Palace. A.W. Thorpe of Lewes Road was employed to fully convert the building into the Arcadia Cinema, which opened on 18th June 1910. In 1911 variety acts were performed on the stage between films screenings.

In 1913 alterations were made to the plans of architectural firm Denman & Matthews of Brighton. The entrance was via a shop front on Lewes Road which led through a corridor foyer to the auditorium at the rear. The proscenium was 23ft wide, and it was later equipped with a British Acoustic(BA) sound system.

The Arcadia Cinema was closed in March 1952 with Van Johnson & Esther Williams in “The Duchess of Idaho” & Elizabeth Taylor in “The Big Hangover”. It was sold to the Brighton Co-Operative Society. By the 1980’s it was remodelled as the Brighton Trades & Labour Club, which remains its use in 2021.

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