Newsreel Theatre. Victoria Station London

The first cinema ever constructed inside a railway terminus has just been completed at Victoria Station. The architect is Mr Alister G MacDonald, son of the Prime Minister, and the engineer is Mr S W Budd. It is a complete cinema with seating for 240 people. It has a brightly lit entrance from the road, yet it is built within the station, against the external wall which fronts Buckingham Palace Road where a large archway gives access for road transport; the auditorium is set above this roadway, high in the air, upon four delicate legs of steel. Externally the whole design is smooth and modern in its forms. It has a base of black vitreous mosaic, and all the gaiety of electric neon tube lettering and horizontal “fins” of stainless steel. Internally the entrance hall paved in coloured mosaic, staircase walls decorated with delightful little cartoons by Mr Edward Carrick, and an auditorium suave and graceful, with a curved ceiling of warm grey. To the right of the proscenium is a small panel and on this will suddenly appear train information even though the main screen is active. And this is one of the purposes of the theatre – to entertain those waiting for trains. [Observer 17 September 1933 abridged]

Reference    Builder 6 January 1933 Page 27
Reference    Builder 20 January 1933 Page 148
Reference    Builder 27 January 1933 Page 190 - plans approved
Reference    Builder 31 March 1932 Page 561 – tenders
Reference    Observer 17 September 1933 page 19 - completion