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Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmospheric cinema", to house entertainment extravaganzas which included a film show. It later became an ordinary cinema, then a music venue, as which it is best known, and then an occasional unlicensed boxing venue. Today, the building is used by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an Evangelical church.
Built in 1930, the building was listed Grade II* in 1974, an unusually short period after construction, with the interior described in great detail as a Hispano-Moresque fantasy.
Former stage manager Rick Burton has published a website with a detailed history of who has performed at the theatre and when, and which is a major source for this article.
The building was built as the last of five venues for Arthur Segal, the original Astoria being in Charing Cross Road (demolished due to Crossrail development in 2009) and the others in Streatham (now an 8-cinema Odeon multiplex), Old Kent Road (since demolished) and Brixton (now the Brixton Academy music venue). Although the Charing Cross Road Astoria was a more conventional cinema, the last four were built as "atmospheric cinemas", also, and perhaps more accurately, called atmospheric theatres, built to evoke the feeling of being outdoors, most often in a Mediterranean village in the twilight, with stars in the sky, moving clouds and sometimes even "flying" birds. They were cinemas but not as we know them, places where one could spend a whole evening, including cafes and bars, organ recitals, orchestral concerts and see a full variety show as well as a movie. Two more theatres for the chain were intended, but never built.
When it opened on 29 September 1930, the Finsbury Park Astoria was one of the largest cinemas in the world. standing at the junction of Isledon Road and Seven Sisters Road on an island site.
The plain faience exterior, designed by Edward A. Stone, acted as a foil to a lavish 'atmospheric interior' by Somerford & Barr, with decoration carried out by Marc-Henri and G. Laverdet. A Moorish foyer with a goldfish-filled fountain (which survives today) led to an auditorium recalling an Andalucian village at night. Originally, the venue boasted 4,000 seats, which may have included cafes and bars outside the auditorium. The stage, 35 feet (11 m) deep and spanned by a 64-foot-wide (20 m) proscenium arch, was equipped with a twin-console Compton 3-manual/13-rank theatre organ (opened by G. T. Pattman). There was a large orchestra pit. Backstage, there were 12 dressing rooms. The opening night featured Ronald Colman in Condemned and a Gala Stage Spectacle, with artists from the other Astoria Theatres making a special engagement on the stage.
In December 1930, the Astoria chain was taken over by Paramount Pictures, and plans for additional theatres in Wood Green and Catford were cancelled.
The cost of so many performers was prodigious (which is why the theatres were built so large, to allow for many paying customers). After 9 years, Paramount decided that the format was no longer viable, and on 27 November 1939, sold the buildings to Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres Ltd, who cancelled all entertainment other than films and organ recitals, thereby allowing several showings per day for the films. This format did prove profitable. They did occasionally have orchestral concerts and variety shows, but the main business was as a cinema.
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Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmospheric cinema", to house entertainment extravaganzas which included a film show. It later became an ordinary cinema, then a music venue, as which it is best known, and then an occasional unlicensed boxing venue. Today, the building is used by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, an Evangelical church.
Built in 1930, the building was listed Grade II* in 1974, an unusually short period after construction, with the interior described in great detail as a Hispano-Moresque fantasy.
Former stage manager Rick Burton has published a website with a detailed history of who has performed at the theatre and when, and which is a major source for this article.
The building was built as the last of five venues for Arthur Segal, the original Astoria being in Charing Cross Road (demolished due to Crossrail development in 2009) and the others in Streatham (now an 8-cinema Odeon multiplex), Old Kent Road (since demolished) and Brixton (now the Brixton Academy music venue). Although the Charing Cross Road Astoria was a more conventional cinema, the last four were built as "atmospheric cinemas", also, and perhaps more accurately, called atmospheric theatres, built to evoke the feeling of being outdoors, most often in a Mediterranean village in the twilight, with stars in the sky, moving clouds and sometimes even "flying" birds. They were cinemas but not as we know them, places where one could spend a whole evening, including cafes and bars, organ recitals, orchestral concerts and see a full variety show as well as a movie. Two more theatres for the chain were intended, but never built.
When it opened on 29 September 1930, the Finsbury Park Astoria was one of the largest cinemas in the world. standing at the junction of Isledon Road and Seven Sisters Road on an island site.
The plain faience exterior, designed by Edward A. Stone, acted as a foil to a lavish 'atmospheric interior' by Somerford & Barr, with decoration carried out by Marc-Henri and G. Laverdet. A Moorish foyer with a goldfish-filled fountain (which survives today) led to an auditorium recalling an Andalucian village at night. Originally, the venue boasted 4,000 seats, which may have included cafes and bars outside the auditorium. The stage, 35 feet (11 m) deep and spanned by a 64-foot-wide (20 m) proscenium arch, was equipped with a twin-console Compton 3-manual/13-rank theatre organ (opened by G. T. Pattman). There was a large orchestra pit. Backstage, there were 12 dressing rooms. The opening night featured Ronald Colman in Condemned and a Gala Stage Spectacle, with artists from the other Astoria Theatres making a special engagement on the stage.
In December 1930, the Astoria chain was taken over by Paramount Pictures, and plans for additional theatres in Wood Green and Catford were cancelled.
The cost of so many performers was prodigious (which is why the theatres were built so large, to allow for many paying customers). After 9 years, Paramount decided that the format was no longer viable, and on 27 November 1939, sold the buildings to Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres Ltd, who cancelled all entertainment other than films and organ recitals, thereby allowing several showings per day for the films. This format did prove profitable. They did occasionally have orchestral concerts and variety shows, but the main business was as a cinema.
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