Photograph of the Piccadilly News Theatre at night

Made:
1934

A snapshot photograph of the Piccadilly News Theatre at night, taken by an unknown photographer in 1934.

An atmospheric photograph of the neon-lit Piccadilly News Theatre, Great Windmill Street, London. News theatres which showed newsreels played a vital role in everyday life before ownership of television sets became widespread. People visited cinemas to find out the latest news. The newsreel being shown is about the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1888-1934). A military dictator, Alexander was murdered by a Croat nationalist during a visit to Marseilles, France.

Originally named the Piccadilly Circus Cinematograph Theatre, this cinema was opened in 1909. In the early 1930s it became a news theatre, reverting back to a normal cinema in 1961. It closed in 1990.

Details

Category:
Photographs
Collection:
Kodak Collection
Object Number:
1990-5036/6020/0004
Materials:
paper (fibre product) and emulsion
type:
photograph and silver gelatin print