| Shepherd’s Bush Palladium | |
|---|---|
| Australian bar at Shepherd's Bush - geograph.org.uk - 725313.jpg The Walkabout pub, formerly the Shepherd’s Bush Palladium |
|
| Former names | Cinematograph the Essoldo The Classic Odeon Cinema |
| General information | |
| Type | Cinema, later a pub |
| Architectural style | Edwardian. |
| Location | Shepherd's Bush |
| Address | Shepherd's Bush Green |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
| Completed | 1910 |
| Renovated | 1923 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Brick, concrete. |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Stanley Coombe Beard |
| Website | |
| http://www.walkabout.eu.com/venues/walkabout-shepherds-bush | |
The Shepherds Bush Palladium is a former cinema, originally built in Shepherd's Bush, London in 1910. It is now a Walkabout pub.
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The Palladium was completed on 3 March 1910 and was originally called the Shepherd's Bush Cinematograph Theatre. The original owner was Montagu Pyke; the building was designed by an unknown architect. The original seating capacity was 900.
The New Palladium (later called the Palladium, the Essoldo, the Classic, and finally the Odeon 2) opened in November 1923 with 763 seats, designed by architect John Stanley Coombe Beard. Beard designed many cinemas in and around London, judged by one architectural historian as "excellent, if stylistically slightly eccentric".[1]
During WW2 the building narrowly escaped being hit by a flying bomb, which in 1944 hit the neighbouring Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion, destroying the original interior. [2]
The Palladium was modernised again in 1968 and the seating was reduced to 500; reopening was delayed by a fire.[3]
The building was taken over by Odeon Cinemas in 1973.[4] However, it did not flourish and the cinema closed in December 1981 for the last time. After standing empty for some time it was eventually converted into a pub.[3]
Today the building is owned and operated by the Walkabout chain of Australasian bars.[3] Early in 2011 its owners applied for an extension to its opening hours, but the application was rejected owing to opposition from local residents. [5] [6]
The Palladium is not a listed building but it falls within the Shepherd's Bush Conservation Area, established by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in order to promote the protection of local buildings of historic interest, and improve the character of the neighbourhood. [7]