The Granada Cinema in Tooting, an area in the borough of Wandsworth, London was one of the great luxurious cinemas built in the 1930s. Tooting is a suburb in the London Borough of Wandsworth in south London. This article refers only to the town of Wandsworth For the wider area generally referred to as Wandsworth see the separate article on London Borough of Wandsworth. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.
History
It opened on 7 September 1931, as one of the Granada chain, with the film "Monte Carlo" and screened movies sometimes with Stage shows or organ recitals until it closed as a cinema on 10 November 1973 (showing "The Good, The Bad and The Ugy"). The organ was a Wurlitzer theatre organ that had originally been used in Sacramento, California. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, is an American company formerly a producer of stringed instruments woodwind brass instruments A theatre organ is a Pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra but in latter years new designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and It had a full size stage on which a number of theatrical productions were performed. The normal progam consisted of either two feature films, or one with a variety show. In the Film industry, a feature film is a Film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening A variety show or variety entertainment is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts especially Musical performances and Comedy Skits and
The Building
The building, which became the first cinema to be preserved and given a Grade I listing, was . designed by Cecil Masey in the Art Deco style with four Corinthian style pillars over the entrance, it was the interior, however that was (and is still) spectacular. Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial This was designed by Theodore Komisarjevsky, a set designer. Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (Фёдор Фёдорович Комиссаржевский 23 May 1882 - 17 April 1954) or Theodore It has marble foyers both at the main and balcony entrances. Also a hall of mirrors and carved ceilings more suitable for a palace than a cinema. The seating capacity was over 3000, and was often completely sold-out went such stars as Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye, The Andrew Sisters and Carmen Miranda gave concerts there. Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor Danny Kaye ( January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American award-winning Actor, Singer and Comedian The Andrews Sisters were a Close harmony singing group consisting of sisters LaVerne Sophie Andrews ( Contralto; July 6, 1911 &ndash May Carmen Miranda, pron. 'kaɾme͂j mi'rɐ͂dɐ (February 9 1909 – August 5 1955 birth name Maria do Carmo After closing as a cinema the building has taken over as a bingo hall.
External links
- http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/uk/london/tooting/index.html
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articleArt Decos/2007/07/11/britain_london_granada_video_feature. shtml
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