Odeon Bethnal Green
172 Cambridge Heath Road,
London,
E2 9LJ
172 Cambridge Heath Road,
London,
E2 9LJ
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: D.J. James Circuit, Eastern Cinemas (GCF), Odeon Theatres Ltd., Rank Organisation
Architects: Leslie H. Kemp
Firms: Andrews & Peascod
Previous Names: Museum Cinema
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Located in the east London district of Bethnal Green, on the main Cambridge Heath Road, behind the York Hall and swimming baths. It was close to the Bethnal Green Museum (today known as the ‘Museum of Childhood’). The Museum Cinema opened just after Christmas in December 1912. It originally had a seating capacity of 500 on a single floor. The auditorium ran parallel to the main Cambridge Heath Road with the entrance at the northern end of the building.
It was closed in June 1931 for internal re-construction to the plans of architect Leslie H. Kemp and the seating capacity increased to 820. It now had a proscenium opening that was 30 feet wide and it re-opened on 12th October 1931. It was taken over by the independent Eastern Cinemas (GCF) from 1936, soon passing to the D.J. James Circuit. From 28th February 1943 it was taken over by Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Theatres Ltd. chain.
It was re-named Odeon Bethnal Green from 20th March 1950. It was an early closure due to the impact of television and had never been equipped with CinemaScope. The Odeon closed on 1st December 1956 with Michael Craig in “House of Secrets” and Jock Mahoney in “I’ve Lived Before”.
The building was demolished and a block of flats, Mayfield House, was built on the site.
Contributed by
KenRoe
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
You say it was not equipped for CinemaScope but I saw ‘To Catch a Thief’ here and that was in VistaVision.
When I knew this cinema, it was a dismal. It was a cinema to avoid. The only good film that I saw there was ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’.