Cinem Palace
22 Richmond Road,
Kingston upon Thames,
KT2 5ED
22 Richmond Road,
Kingston upon Thames,
KT2 5ED
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Additional Info
Architects: Edward Albert Stone
Firms: Norfolk & Pryor
Previous Names: Cinema Palace (Central Hall), Regal Cinema
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Originally built in the 1880’s as a church/mission hall, the first cinema in Kingston upon Thames was the Cinem Palace, opened by James Watt on 4th December 1909. It was located on Richmond Road at the corner of Canbury Park Road next to the Central Hall Rink and was occasionally advertised as Cinema Palace(Central Hall).
Seating was provided for 500 in the stalls and 100 in balcony level. It was described as ‘beautifully decorated, with tip-up seats giving a cosy refinement’. Music was provided by a single pianist playing high up on a platform near the screen.
The Cinem Palace briefly went over to talkies and its name was changed to Regal Cinema, however it closed in May 1931. It was demolished in June/July 1931 and the huge Regal Cinema was built by the County Cinemas chain on the site (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures as the ABC Kingston upon Thames). The Regal Cinema’s foyer is the location of the former Cinem Palace.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
A vintage postcard view of the Cinem Palace:
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Was this actually ‘really’ named Cinem Palace? If you look at the alternative photo, where you see some of the name, there’s a large gap between the M and the P and on the wire holding the letters the telltail bracket that would have held a letter….perhaps an A!
I’d have money on the A having fallen off and the postcard being mistakenly noted as Cinem Palace. Kingston Council list it as Cinema Palace….. https://maps.kingston.gov.uk/PSImageViewer/ImageStore/Images/DC/1313017/Image_183.pdf