Picturehouse Bromley
242 High Street,
Bromley,
BR1 1PQ
242 High Street,
Bromley,
BR1 1PQ
2 people
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Sadly this cinema has just been announced as closing on the 1st August 2024. It’s been my local in recent months but it’s very noticeable how quiet it’s been even on opening weekends of major films, a shame as the Picturehouse refurb just five years ago has been very good.
Opened on 7 June 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G57tji7YCaY
Now closed, reopening in early 2019 as Picturehouse Bromley.
Closing date as cineworld 29/03/2018
Thanks Zappomatic, nice summary—I’d just found the plans for myself but I’d missed some of the detail you’ve picked up on.
The facade is a dreadful state and I had no idea that so much had been lost of the original.
(Original facade shown on p14 of the Design & Access Statement.)
The rendering of the ‘restored’ facade looks like a massive improvement!
I haven’t been to any of the auditoria in a very long time, but from memory, they will have their work cut out to do a good selective ‘restoration’ and will also need to improve control over the acoustics.
I imagine that plans for a ‘boutique’ cinema built on top of the nearby ‘The Glades’ regional shopping mall (also known as ‘intu Bromley’ for a few years) will now not be taken forward. Meanwhile, the £90m Bromley South Central development is under construction, to include a 9 screen Vue multiplex, with completion delayed and now slated for Spring 2018.
Planning application (ref 17/03758/FULL1) submitted to remodel and extend as Bromley Picturehouse including a roof extension to the front with a new screen, and the former Odeon call centre at the rear converted to a cafe/bar with 84 covers with another screen sitting on top. Screens 2 and 3 will received curved, stepped seating and larger screens, and screen 1 will have new wooden stepping built over the existing concrete to increase legroom.
According to the heritage statement it seems the interior and exterior will be substantially restored to more closely resemble the original design:
“The exisiting building is Locally Listed and, the frontage in particular, in a substantial state of disrepair. The proposed development will maintain and restore the prominent features of the High Street elevation, refurbishing the existing faience frontage, reinstating the original rounded wings to the facade, replacing the existing front doors, and replacing the existing canopy with a slimmer, outward curving canopy as per the original design.
Additionally, the application proposes the restoration of prominent architectural features internally, including distinctive ceiling and wall features throughout the foyers and main auditoria."
New seating capacities: Screen 1: 324 seats + 4 wheelchair Screen 2: 92 seats + 1 wheelchair Screen 3: 80 seats + 1 wheelchair Screen 4: 263 seats Screen 5 (above cafe): 87 seats + 1 disabled Screen 6 (above entrance): 70 seats
Plans are by Earle Architects.
Now operated by Cineworld.
Some photos dating from 1990.
EXTERIOR
FOYER
SCREEN IN FORMER CIRCLE
SCREEN IN FORMER FRONT STALLS
As from April 2006, the Odeon Bromley was one of several cinemas taken over by the Irish Based exhibitor Ward-Anderson and is now known as the Empire Cinema.
Two 2003 exterior photographs showing the current signage on the Odeon Bromley:
http://www.cinephoto.co.uk/odeon_bromley.htm
A close-up photograph of the facade taken in 1971:
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