Curzon Cinema

In the Hampshire town of Waterlooville, located to the north of Portsmouth, the Curzon Cinema opened in the late-1930’s, with 823 seats. It was built by F. J. Spickenell, and owned by his company Waterlooville Picture Theatre Company Ltd. There was a small stage and the proscenium was 35ft wide.

Mr Spickenell died towards the end of World War II, and the running of the cinema was taken over by his executors. By 1953 the seating had been reduced to 784.

It was subsequently taken over by Portsmouth Town Cinemas, who installed a 28ft by 16ft CinemaScope screen in 1955.

However, the cinema suffered from the barring system, which prevented access to the most recent, more popular films, and it closed in 1959.

At some stage the frontage was removed, while the rear (auditorium) area was converted into function rooms. These had closed by 2006, and, when I visited in April 2008, the building was up for sale.

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