Odeon Penge
164 High Street,
London,
SE20 7QS
164 High Street,
London,
SE20 7QS
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Odeon Theatres Ltd., Rank Organisation
Architects: Andrew Mather
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
Located in the south-east London district of Penge. This was an original Odeon, built for Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Theatres Ltd. It opened on 31st July 1937 with "Mr. Stringfellow Says No" starring Neil Hamilton.
Designed by architect Andrew Mather, the facade was covered in opaque glass panels and there was a glass tower on each side of the entrance, which were illuminated from within. The auditorium had seating for 1,096 in the stalls and 486 in the circle. There were three troughs across the ceiling which contain concealed lighting and horizontal bands along the side walls, with decorative grilles on the proscenium splay walls.
The Odeon led an uneventful life and was closed on 4th September 1976 with Doug McClure in "At the Earth’s Core" and Henry Fonda in "The Red Pony". It was converted into a bingo club from 16th September 1976 and became a Coral Bingo Club from 1978. This closed on 12th March 1990 and the building was demolished in 1994.
A pub in the J.D. Wetherspoon chain was built on the site, known as ‘The Moon and Stars’, it opened on 24th December 1994. A Sainsbury supermarket also stand on part ogf the site today.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
A photograph from October 1949, playing the Odeon Release:
http://www.mawgrim.co.uk/cavalcade/penge1.jpg
Photographed in April 1956, playing the Odeon release, showing groups of schoolboys queueing for Shakespeare:
http://www.mawgrim.co.uk/cavalcade/penge.jpg
Still open, but with little publicity on view and minus the top of the glass towers in the late-1960’s:
http://www.mawgrim.co.uk/cavalcade/penge2.jpg
An early warning of impending closure came in 1965 when the Odeon went to restricted opening, except in school holidays. All day openings were restricted to Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, otherwise performances began around tea time.
As a bingo hall in 1990 :– PENGE ODEON