Electric Cinema.
The Electric Cinema first opened in London's Portobello Road on 24 February 1910. It was one of the first buildings in Britain to be designed specifically for motion picture exhibition, and was one of the first buildings in the vicinity to be supplied with electricity.[3] It was built shortly after its namesake the Electric Cinema in Birmingham, which predates it by around two months. Its first film was Henry VIII, screened on 23 February 1911.[3]
The venue opened 18 years before talkies became the norm, so had no facilities to broadcast sound.[3] The cinema was soon eclipsed by the huge picture palaces that became fashionable during the 1930s but, despite being shuttered for brief periods, it has remained in almost continual use until the present day.[4][5]
Electric Cinema.
The Electric Cinema first opened in London's Portobello Road on 24 February 1910. It was one of the first buildings in Britain to be designed specifically for motion picture exhibition, and was one of the first buildings in the vicinity to be supplied with electricity.[3] It was built shortly after its namesake the Electric Cinema in Birmingham, which predates it by around two months. Its first film was Henry VIII, screened on 23 February 1911.[3]
The venue opened 18 years before talkies became the norm, so had no facilities to broadcast sound.[3] The cinema was soon eclipsed by the huge picture palaces that became fashionable during the 1930s but, despite being shuttered for brief periods, it has remained in almost continual use until the present day.[4][5]