Granada Clapham Junction
58 St. John's Hill,
London,
SW11
58 St. John's Hill,
London,
SW11
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 23 comments
Grand opening ad posted.
the magnificent 3-8 Wurlitzer is installed in a school in Geneve Switserland. Not much used as so many great shame
I was an occasional visitor in my early years in the 1950’s. They ran Saturday morning kids shows – children only – you couldn’t take your parents! Sometimes they played the organ and we sang the Clapham Grenadiers song. The shows always started with a short cartoon – Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. Or perhaps Bugs Bunny or Sylvester & Tweety Pie. Next was an episode of a serial such as Flash Gordon – great stories, pity about the pathetic special effects! Occasionally they showed a newsreel, but often it was a comedy short – The Three Stooges, or Bowery Boys. Finally the main film. Westerns were very popular. Anything with plenty of action and not too much kissing! As a visitor from Devon, I found the London kids rather lively, but there was no really bad behaviour. Imagine the atmosphere when there was an exciting scene – all those kids shouting there support for the goodies and booing the bad guys! Those shows were really enjoyable.
I have been involved with the Granada since moving to St.John’s Hill in 1994,and more directly, after it’s closure in Dec 1997.I have created a website dedicated to this extraordinairy building and detailing the ups and downs of it’s existance so far!
www.granadaclaphamjunction.webeden.co.uk
It is heartening to play a part in its current rennaissance – and to share the security it now enjoys for the foreseeable future.
Ken, I can see that you were busy snapping away during the CTA meeting last month. The CJ Granada is special to me as it was my local cinema during the 1950’s and 60’s when I lived in Battersea. I attach a link to my Flickr set which includes historic as well as photos taken at the AGM:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22737830@N02/sets/72157633460904435/
a view taken from a train showing the scale of the apartments covering the cinema with just the red brick flytower visible
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/4288614011/
Yea thats what i had heard but my eyes nearly popped out when i saw that hoarding! Ah well!
Clapham could do with a screen that area.
No – not as far as I am aware. I think they have “imaginatively” named the apartments Lumiere. The last I heard was that the cinema part, although due to be restored, did not have a tenant, but a church group was thought to be a likely prospect.
Are Lumiere planing a screen here?
Some photos taken September 2008 showing the new steelwork being erected over the auditorium, on top of the stage tower and the work punching through windows on the upper part of the stage tower.
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I’m thinking about buying one of the Granada apartments that are now on sale – I love the building. I was banking on the fact that the theatre would be restored to its former glory – that’s what the developers told me would happen, although they admit that they have not yet leased/sold it.
Westrex – where did you hear about the church plan? Is that definite? Thanks!
Two vintage photographs of the former Granada Theatre, courtesy of the Cinema Theatre Association archives:
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i drove past this building tonight. The hoarding now just says ‘Former Granada Cinema, For Sale"
Is the conversion still going to happen?
A set of photographs of the Granada Clapham Junction here:
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Oct 30th. 2007. At 1.30pm today i flew over it and its still there! Which is more than i can say for the Dominion in Houslow which i passed over minutes later and is now as flat as a car park!
A great view of the auditorium prior to tripling & bingo use, plus thumbnail views of the exterior as is and as will possibly be!:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1636995131/
Anyhow, having taken some pictures this month of the Granada CLAPHAM JUNCTION (October 2007) here they are ! :–
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I have just spent some time submitting a new listing for this theatre because of the inaccurate location on CT. This is Clapham Junction NOT Battersea!
There seems to be a policy now of listing theatres as (for example) Granada Theatre, or Granada Cinema, when actually the location is (almost) part of the name – Granada Bedford or Granada Clapham Junction. This is detrimental to those seeking to add to the site as it is often difficult to find if the theatre has already been listed.
Entries are vetted and altered by CT volunteers too readily IMHO and a thorough look at how theatres are identified needs to take place.
Ben,
That looks great. Let’s hope it happens.
What about this promising-looking development: http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=1001
Planning permission has been granted for conversion to a church plus some flats etc.
The hording is still in place and builders accomodation has been installed on land at the rear of the theater.
The entire building is currently surrounded by hoardings, it looks as though demolition is about to happen…….
Here are 3 excellent photographs of the auditorium of the Granada Theatre, Clapham Junction which show its condition as seen in October 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbarr/274106188/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbarr/274106250/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbarr/274106317/