Odeon Paignton
191 Torquay Road,
Preston,
Paignton,
TQ3 2UB
191 Torquay Road,
Preston,
Paignton,
TQ3 2UB
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: County Cinemas Ltd., Odeon Theatres Ltd., Rank Organisation
Architects: Joseph E. Walter, William E. Wolff
Styles: Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Palladium Cinema
Nearby Theaters
Located in the Preston district in the north of the seaside town of Paignton, Devon. The Palladium Cinema was opened on 31st December 1932 with Jessie Matthews in “The Midshipman”, supported by Laurel & Hardy in “County Hospital” and “Trees and Flowers” a Walt Disney ‘Silly Symphony’. Designed by architect William E. Wolff of Paignton, assisted by Joseph E. Walter. The proscenium was 34 feet wide and the stage 12 feet deep. There were 5 dressing rooms. It was equipped with a Christie 2Manual/7Ranks organ which was opened by organist Melbourne Holman. The Palladium Cinema also had a café.
By 1934 it had been taken over by the County Cinemas chain. The Palladium Cinema was closed early in World War II, but re-opened in July 1940 operated by Lou Morris. It was taken over on 23rd August 1943 by the Oscar Deutsch chain of Odeon Theatres Ltd. It was re-named Odeon on 1st June 1947. It was closed on 7th December 1957, but reopened the following year and operated during the summer seasons only until it closed again on 30th September 1961.
From January 1962 it reopened as a Top Rank Bingo Club. By March 1986 it had been renamed Palladium and operated as a cinema during that summer and as a bingo club until its final closure in September 1987.
It was demolished in 1989 and a block of retirement flats named Pegasus House was built on the site.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
I remember going to this theatre back in the early 50’s with Tweenaway boys I think we saw Ben Hur I’ll never forget as I had never gone to a theatre before, sadly these big theatres became far too big to maintain once TV came in and then Videos etc it just killed them off, it is sad.