Palace Cinema

The original cinema on this site in Southall was the Paragon Palace of 1912 which was taken over by the United Picture Theatres Ltd. chain in around 1928, with the view to demolish it and build a brand new cinema.

Architect George Coles was appointed the circuit’s architect and UPT gave him the commission to design the first new cinema for the circuit (all the other cinemas were takeovers of older cinemas and theatres). The Palace Cinema was built in 1929 on an enlarged site of the former Paragon Palace Cinema, and it opened on 30th November 1929. Unfortunately, UPT overstretched their finances and the company were taken over by the Gaumont British Theatres Ltd. chain in April 1930 and they operated the Palace Cinema from July 1930.

The cinema’s style in the form of a Chinese temple is unique in Britain. Its exotic tiled exterior with a red pagoda roof complete with dragons have long made the cinema a well-loved local landmark. Inside the building, the Chinese style continues, but a little more restrained. The terracotta faience and decorative features are the work of the Hathern Station Brick and Terra Cotta Company. It is listed Grade II*.

After a number of owners and names it closed as the Liberty Cinema in 1982 and was converted to an indoor market. In 2001 it reopened as a three screen cinema but this failed in 2010 and was converted back to a market.