Super Cinema With a Single Giant Screen

The Odeon, Streatham was originally built by Edward Albert Stone as a Super Cinema with a single giant screen, and opened as the Astoria Theatre on the 30th of June 1930 with the Film 'Paris' and a huge Variety Show.

The Theatre was the third of planetwin365 four Astoria Theatres to be built in London for the independent film exhibitor, Arthur Segal, the first of which was the Astoria, Brixton, Segal then went on to build the Astoria, Old Kent Road, which has since been demolished; the Astoria in Streatham which is now an Odeon Cinema; and the Finsbury Park Astoria, which has since been converted into a church. Stone also built the former Astoria Theatre in Charing Cross Road and the Astoria, Brighton.
The exterior of this Astoria was in the modern style but the auditorium, which could seat some 2,614 people in comfort, was in an Egyptian style, although the ceiling was partly in the Atmospheric style, like the three other London Astorias by Segal. The Streatham Astoria interior was designed by Marc-Henri & G. Laverdet who also designed the other three auditoria as well.

The Theatre had a fully equipped Stage and Fly Tower, ample Dressing Rooms, a cafe, also in the Egyptian Style above the main entrance, and was fitted with a Compton 3 Manual 12 Rank theatre organ, which was inaugurated by Al Bollington.
Not long after it opened the Theatre was taken over by Paramount Pictures in December 1930, and just like the Finsbury Park Astoria, was taken over by Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres Ltd in November 1939.

On the 2nd of September 1961, whilst under the ownership of the Rank Organisation, the Astoria was closed after the final showing of the Films 'Information Received,' and aptly 'The Last Sunset.' The Theatre was then subsequently modernised. This consisted of removing most of the original interior, although the auditorium ceiling was left in place.

The Theatre was then reopened on the 18th of September 1961 as the Odeon, Streatham, a name it retains to this day. The opening Film was 'No, My Darling Daughter' with Juliet Mills who was in attendance for the screening. The Theatre then continued as a Cinema with occasional stage use including Ballet, Pantomimes and Concerts right up until the final live performance there in December 1978 with a concert by Ian Drury.

In 1979 the Theatre closed down so that it could be tripled with a large screen in the former balcony for 1,095, and two smaller screens in the former rear stalls area which each held 267. In 1983 the original safety curtain for the Theatre was lowered for the last time and a new screen was built in front of it for the number 1 Cinema. The following year this main Cinema was later reduced in size again by installing a new screen where the old Balcony front used to be.

In 1991 a fourth Cinema 888POKER was installed in the former front Stalls of the Theatre, seating 240 and then a fifth screen was built into the original stage of the Theatre seating 196.

In 2001 refurbishment work on the building was carried out and yet another two small UK LOTTERY Cinemas were installed in the building by fitting one into the former rear of the Circle and by splitting the front Stalls Cinema into two so that currently the Streatham Odeon has 8 screens. Very little of the original interior remains of this once vast Theatre which is now in use as a modern multiplex Cinema complex.