Originally the Philharmonic Hall, the Alexandra Picture Palace was opened, after a complete reconstruction, on 23 October 1911. It had over a thousand “roomy plush tip-up seats with arms” with continuous performances from 2.15 to 10.45 p.m. The prices were 3d. and 6d. for the stalls and 1s. for the balcony. The Alexandra was one of the finest picture houses in the country at that time and was well patronised. Its popularity declined in the 1920s as it was eclipsed by newer purpose-built cinemas.
It was situated on the west side of Above Bar Street between Ogle Road and Regent Street. It closed in 1933 and demolished in part for the new Regal Cinema on the same site.

Alexandra Picture Palace (Philharmonic Hall)

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Photograph, 1933

2. Alexandra Picture Palace

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A view of the interior from c.1920


see also


Further reading:
Dream Palaces, by Bill White. (HS/r)
A Pictorial Peep into the Past, by Arthur Smith, p55. (HS/d)
Southampton Cinemas, by John C. Shephard. (HS/r)
The Big Show: British Cinema Culture in the Great War 1914-1918, by Michael Hammond, see index. (HS/r)


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