It’s National Cinema Day, which feels like a good excuse to dig into the archive and revisit Troxy’s first life as one of London’s great cinemas.
Troxy opened in 1933 as the largest cinema in England, with 3,500 seats, sweeping Art Deco interiors and King Kong as its very first screening. The film left such a mark that our gorilla has been part of Troxy ever since.
The building stayed open as a cinema until 1960, before going on to become the London Opera Centre, a bingo hall and, from 2006, the live events venue people know today.
That history is still very much in the room. Troxy became Grade II listed in 1991, and many of the original details remain, from the grand staircases and mirrors to the Art Deco features throughout the building.
Film has also continued to pop up in Troxy’s more recent life. Secret Cinema brought Bugsy Malone here in 2009, followed by The Handmaiden in 2017, while King Kong returned to the screen for Troxy’s 80th birthday in 2013.
National Cinema Day celebrates the joy of seeing films together on the big screen, something this building was made for more than 90 years ago.
After all the gigs, club nights, awards shows and events that have happened here since, it’s still hard to beat seeing the lights go down in an old cinema.
