Astoria Theatre

Mike_Blakemore on April 1, 2018 at 10:07 am

Yes.. Which proves grade ll status is not worth the paper its written on. work should be aimed at minimum of Grade ll star and there are very few of them in the UK.

thomastace on January 23, 2017 at 12:35 pm

Still there, still hope.

RHScottSpencer on March 14, 2013 at 6:43 pm

I worked at his theatre/cinema as a relief projectionist for EMI. I am sorry to hear that it is due to be demolished. A lot of money when into trying to save the building. But it was never going to be saved the land it stands on is worth far to much, if used for something else.

Jeffrey Morris on October 26, 2011 at 1:51 pm

Following years of neglect it now appears that the former Astoria cinema will be demolished having received permission to do so by the local authority.

Although this will most likely be challenged it is unlikely to reverse the situation. A venue of this nature in a city such as Brighton ought to be a viable business opportunity offering a multipurpose venue that can be financially rewarding. However, with no business plan or vision for alternative use and restoration over a decade or so it is unlikely that the local authority or those listening to any appeal will have a change of thought. It is Very sad indeed.

http://www.brightonandhovefreepress.co.uk/brighton-and-hove-community/brighton%e2%80%99s-astoria-cinema-to-be-demolished/28761

http://www.brighton-society.org.uk/?p=1144

Ken Roe on November 28, 2008 at 12:11 am

A vintage view of the auditorium in 1958, just prior to conversion into a 70mm/Todd A-O Roadshow cinema:
View link

Ken Roe on July 25, 2007 at 10:42 pm

Here is link to a page showing a vintage photograph and a potted history:
http://www.terramedia.co.uk/brighton/Astoria.htm

brighton84 on August 14, 2006 at 8:26 pm

Letter: The Astoria will not be lost to dereliction
From the archive, first published Tuesday 11th Apr 2006.

In response to several recent letters concerning the Astoria Cinema on the Old Steine, we do indeed own the building and, despite being hard at work putting a new show together for the Brighton Festival, behind the scenes we are still working on our Astoria plans.

The scaffolding at the front was put there both to protect the building frontage (which is listed, but was deteriorating) and the public, from falling masonry.

No doubt the unsightliness of this is bringing the building to everyone’s attention but, prior to our ownership, it suffered many years of unnoticed neglect.

Before anything else can be done with the Astoria, it needs a new roof and the fascia needs to be renovated and restored.

This vastly increases the expense of restoration and, since there are no grants or lottery funds available to us, we are actively seeking private partners and sponsorship.

In the meantime, while the scaffolding may be an eyesore, behind it lies the potential of a wonderful performance/cinema space.

So, we apologise for the inconvenience, but we are working with architects on new internal designs, making feasibility studies and seeking partners and sponsors to resurrect the Astoria.

Many wonderful theatres and cinemas have been lost to Brighton and to redevelopment, most recently the Essoldo on North Street.

We do not intend to let the Astoria fall into the dereliction/redevelopment trap and will be revealing our plans for the Astoria in the near future.

-Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Yes/No Productions, Ship Street, Brighton

This letter was taken from the Brighton Argus. Yes/No Productions are the management organisation for the group known as ‘Stomp’. Should there be any further developments, I’ll post it here.

delta on August 11, 2006 at 6:30 am

The Astoria was my favourite Brighton cinema, one of two in the town, (the other was the ‘Regent’), which featured Roadshow presentations. I clearly remember seeing ‘Jaws’; ‘The Towering Inferno’; ‘Earthquake’; 70mm version of ‘Gone With The Wind’; and many others. It was a comfortable theatre with a good view of the screen from all seats. I was saddened when it closed, as did the Regent, in favour of the awful ‘multi screen’ conversions.

PaulBland on October 8, 2005 at 11:55 am

In the early 1970s the manager was A.T.“Chick” Fowle who was fiercely proud of his theatre. I first saw “Where Eagles Dare” there and, on that huge screen, we were all there with Richard Burton on top of the cable car! I loaned Mr Fowle my copy of the opening brochure for The Regent; he returned it with complimentary tickets for “The Sting”, which I had already seen at the ABC, but the screen was nowhere near as good!

woody on January 20, 2005 at 11:00 am

The building is in a deplorable state, damp, derelict and covered in graffitti, there is scaffolding up, but it has an air of abandonment, is there any news on its future?

Ken Roe on November 20, 2004 at 6:55 pm

The street address of the Astoria is 10-13 Gloucester Place. It opened on 21st September 1933, the architect being Edward A Stone with interior decorations in a French Art Deco style by interior designers Henri & Laverdet (who had worked with Stone on his other Astoria Theatres in London at Streatham and Finsbury Park and at the Whitehall Theatre, London).

The Astoria Brighton was built for E.E. Lyons who was starting up a chain of Astoria Cinemas in southern England at the time, but he died in 1934 and the Astoria Brighton (together with several others of his cinemas) was taken over by the ABC chain of theatres. The final film shown was Barbra Streisand in “A Star is Born on 7th May 1977.

brighton84 on January 31, 2004 at 2:38 pm

Colin, just noticed your posting. Seems every interested movie theater person wants to know what’s happening at the Astoria. Is it back up for sale?