Metro Cinema
11 Rupert Street,
London,
W1 7FS
11 Rupert Street,
London,
W1 7FS
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Picturehouse Cinemas UK
Architects: John Burrell, Stefanie Fischer
Firms: Burrell, Foley & Fischer
Functions: Nightclub
Previous Names: Other Cinema
Nearby Theaters
Occupying an empty shell in the Trocadero Centre, which was originally supposed to be a theater, the Metro Cinema opened on 11th October 1985 with “Hail Mary” and “Dim Sum”.
Metro 1 with 195 seats was the auditorium of the theater space whilst Metro 2 (84 seats) was the former stage area. Both were below ground level.
The cinemas were plain - with rough cast concrete walls but some stylish embellishments existed in the Art Deco-style stairs and signs. Design was done by Burrell Foley Associates.
It was taken over by City Screen and re-named Other Cinema on 30th August 2002, but this was short lived as it was closed on 14th November 2004 with “Coffee and Cigarettes” & “Red Lights”. The street entrance became a ticket bureau. By 2015 the cinema space had been gutted and converted into an up-market nightclub named DSTRCT.
Contributed by
Ian Grundy
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
I remember running films p*ssed off my face at this show!!!
This is now The OTHER Cinema, run by the Picturehouse group (from early 2003)check pics at www.picturehouses.co.uk
it has a very strong arthouse, documentary booking policy showing a lot of very specialised titles and some great classic reissues exclusively in the West End, its been refurbished with screen 1 in shades of red with velevt seats (195) and screen 2 has cream leather armchairs (56)
The Other Cinema closed its doors on 14th November 2004. Though still popular with film fans and doing good business with its ‘art house’ programming, the crunch came with a rent hike from the landlords of the Trocadero Centre in which it is located.
Here is a 2004 of the building under its short lived latter name ‘Other Cinema’:
http://www.moviebunker.com/the_other_cinema.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/54538473/
another shot as The Other Cinema, has been stripped out internally.
View link
The Metro was a venture by The Other Cinema which was originally set up as a film distribution business. It screened its first film at the Scala in King’s Cross in 1971. The renaming to The Other Cinema was simply a tribute to the company’s roots. Hefty rent rises are believed to be behind the decision to close.
As other comments suggest, it was re-named Other Cinema earlier than the 2004 stated in the description. I have a ticket for ‘Other Cinema’ from 4 January 2003 (for a re-showing of Hal Hartley’s ‘Trust’).
Pictures of the Metro inside (lobby + larger auditorium) here :
https://bff-architects.com/metro-cinema/
The link I provided in my previous post is still valid but the page in question was updated with more pictures since I mentioned it in 2019. Worth seeing.