Ace Cinema

Ace Cinema was a large former cinema in Rayners Lane, in the London Borough of Harrow, London. The building opened on 12 October 1936 as the Grosvenor Cinema and was designed by architect Frank Ernest Bromige in a streamlined Art Deco style. Its architecture included a distinctive central concrete sculpture depicting a stylized elephant's head with a projecting trunk, a feature that became one of the building's most recognizable visual elements. The auditorium was originally arranged with a circle seating 405 people and stalls seating 830, giving a total capacity of 1,235. It also contained a 44-foot-deep stage and six dressing rooms, allowing the venue to accommodate theatrical and live-performance uses in addition to film exhibition. An oval foyer included a sunken café area, reflecting the multifunctional design of large interwar cinemas. The venue joined the Odeon chain on 5 May 1937, less than a year after opening. It was renamed the Odeon in 1941, then the Gaumont in 1950, and returned to the Odeon name in 1964. During its Odeon period, seating capacity was reduced from the original 1,235 to approximately 1,185. The cinema's later history was shaped by attempts to find uses beyond conventional film exhibition. Rank, the parent organization of Odeon, sought to convert the premises into a bingo hall, but Harrow borough council refused the application. The building was subsequently acquired by Ace, a small independent cinema group, and reopened under the Ace Cinema name on 1 October 1981. The Ace Cinema closed on 6 October 1986. From 1991, the premises operated for a period as the Grosvenor Cine/Bar Experience. This incarnation incorporated the Ace Bar wine bar in the former foyer and Studio Warehouse nightclub activity in the auditorium. The entertainment and nightlife use ended later in the decade, after which the building remained vacant until 2000. In that year it was acquired by the Zoroastrian Centre for Europe and adapted for use as the Zoroastrian Centre. The building therefore survives as an important historic structure, although it no longer operates as a cinema under the Ace Cinema name. The building received statutory protection as a Grade II listed structure on 13 March 1981 and was upgraded to Grade II* on 27 January 1984. The designation recognized it as an unusually intact example of a late-1930s cinema in the streamlined Art Deco tradition. Its significance rests principally on its architecture, surviving spatial organization, civic and entertainment history, and succession of institutional and commercial uses rather than on an ongoing consumer cinema brand.

The building now known as Ace Cinema began as the Grosvenor Cinema in Rayners Lane, Harrow, London. Designed by Frank Ernest Bromige, it opened on 12 October 1936 with a screening of The Country Doctor. Its design represented the streamlined Art Deco cinema architecture of the period. The facade was distinguished by a central concrete sculpture of a stylized elephant's head and trunk. Inside, the venue combined a large auditorium with facilities suited to both cinema and stage entertainment: the original circle held 405 seats, the stalls held 830, and the building included a 44-foot-deep stage and six dressing rooms. An oval foyer incorporated a sunken café area. On 5 May 1937, the cinema became part of the Odeon chain. It was renamed the Odeon in 1941 and the Gaumont in 1950, before returning to the Odeon name in 1964. By that time the seating capacity had been reduced from 1,235 to 1,185. During the later Odeon period, the chain's parent organization, Rank, proposed converting the building into a bingo hall. Harrow borough council rejected the application, preventing that particular change of use. The premises were then acquired by Ace, a small independent cinema group. On 1 October 1981, it reopened as the Ace Cinema. This phase ended when the cinema closed on 6 October 1986. The building later entered a more mixed entertainment phase. From 1991 it operated as the Grosvenor Cine/Bar Experience, with the Ace Bar occupying the foyer and Studio Warehouse operating as a nightclub in the auditorium. That use ended later in the decade, and the property stood unused until 2000. In 2000, the Zoroastrian Centre for Europe acquired the building, which subsequently became known as the Zoroastrian Centre. The change brought the former cinema into community and religious use while preserving its importance as a historic building. It had already been listed at Grade II on 13 March 1981, and its status was raised to Grade II* on 27 January 1984. The listing described it as the least altered example of a late-1930s cinema in its architectural style. The site's history consequently extends beyond the Ace name: it is a record of interwar cinema design, the consolidation and rebranding of British cinema chains, independent exhibition, late twentieth-century leisure uses, and adaptive reuse.

• 2000

  Acquired by the Zoroastrian Centre for Europe

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The former cinema building was acquired and subsequently used as the Zoroastrian Centre for Europe.

• 1991

  Begins Cine/Bar Experience use

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The premises began operating as the Grosvenor Cine/Bar Experience, combining a foyer wine bar with nightclub use in the auditorium.

• 1986

  Ace Cinema closes

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The cinema ceased operations on 6 October 1986.

• 1984

  Listing upgraded to Grade II*

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The building's heritage designation was upgraded to Grade II*, recognizing its unusually intact late-1930s cinema design.

• 1981

  Listed at Grade II and reopens as Ace Cinema

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The building was listed at Grade II on 13 March, and after acquisition by the independent Ace group it reopened as the Ace Cinema on 1 October.

• 1964

  Returns to the Odeon name

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The cinema was renamed Odeon again; its capacity had by then been reduced to about 1,185 seats.

• 1950

  Renamed Gaumont

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The venue changed its name from Odeon to Gaumont.

• 1941

  Renamed Odeon

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The Grosvenor Cinema adopted the Odeon name.

• 1937

  Joins the Odeon chain

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  On 5 May 1937, the cinema became part of the Odeon chain.

• 1936

  Grosvenor Cinema opens

  [1]Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  Designed by Frank Ernest Bromige, the venue opened in Rayners Lane on 12 October 1936 with a screening of The Country Doctor.

A large suburban Art Deco cinema and entertainment venue whose identity changed through successive cinema-chain, independent-cinema, bar, nightclub, and community-institutional uses.

• Cinema venue · 1936

  Grosvenor Cinema

  The original cinema identity, opened in 1936. It was designed as a substantial suburban picture house with a circle, stalls, stage, dressing rooms, and an oval foyer containing a café area. Its Art Deco architecture and large capacity were central to its role as a local entertainment venue.

• Independent cinema · 1981

  Ace Cinema

  The name used after the building was acquired by the independent Ace cinema group. The venue operated under this identity from 1 October 1981 until its closure on 6 October 1986.

• Cinema, bar, and nightlife venue · 1991

  Grosvenor Cine/Bar Experience

  A later entertainment format that used the former cinema as a combined leisure venue. The foyer contained the Ace Bar wine bar, while the auditorium was used for Studio Warehouse nightclub activity. This operation ended later in the 1990s.

• Community and religious centre · 2000

  Zoroastrian Centre for Europe

  The building's current institutional use following its acquisition by the Zoroastrian Centre for Europe in 2000. It is no longer a cinema operating under the Ace Cinema name.

• Proposed conversion to a bingo hallStrategy

  Background

  Odeon's parent organization, Rank, sought to change the cinema's use to a bingo hall during the later Odeon period.

  Action taken

  Harrow borough council refused the conversion application.

  Aftermath

  The cinema was subsequently acquired by the independent Ace group and reopened as Ace Cinema in 1981.

  Source

1. 1Ace Cinemaen.wikipedia.org