Apollo Victoria Theatre (1929), Wilton Road, Westminster, London

The Apollo Theatre is one of the few old buildings remaining in the immediate vicinity of  the main entrance to Victoria train station in London, but also one of a number of superb surviving Art Deco architectural gems in the area. Built in 1929, it opened in 1930 as part of the Gaumont chain of cinemas.

From the Wikipedia page on this theatre: "The theatre was built with two identical façades on Wilton and Vauxhall Bridge Roads. Construction is principally of concrete, with strong horizontal banding along the exterior sides of the auditorium. By contrast the entrances feature a cantilevered canopy, and are framed by vertical channelling, with two black marble columns rising to the roof line. The entrance is simple, making use of chrome trimmings, this leads to a nautical themed interior in the original Art Deco style that makes extensive use of concealed lighting, decorated with scallop shells and columns that burst into sculptured fountains at the ceiling."

The Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Victoria_Theatre

During the few minutes available to me for taking photos, I looked for interesting features - there are many.

The front entrance has some of those wonderful metal handrails leading up the steps to the metal doors with their tastefully designed handles, all in the style you would expect from a top notch building of the period.

The canopy ceiling is painted with the same dark red color as the door frames, and features small but ornate lights within rectangular frames, which are joined with each other using bars of the same material as the frames.

The front edge of the canopy underside features longitudinal gold colored bars interspersed with silver bars at right angles to the gold.

The small windows above the entrance doorways continue this theme.

Either side of the two black marble columns that frame the entrance are to be found bass-relief metal sculptured panels, with a bank of metal-framed windows above them. The panels depict a stylized audience viewing a movie, some figures being clothed, others naked. The panel to the left of the entrance, above the exit, is in need of restoration.

Two concrete sculptures are found in the alcoves containing the metal sculptured panels. In the exit alcove, the word 'EXIT' is found, and next to the panel to the right of the main entrance is found a figure of a man.

The corner of the building to the left of the entrance soars skyward, with its left margin reprising the horizontal green lines that cover the extensive outer wall of the auditorium to the right of the main entrance.

Designs in concrete adorn the walls at ground level on Wilton Road, as well as the stage door at the farthest point to the right of the main entrance.

Next time I'll go inside!

The Savoy (1940), Holloway Road, Islington, London

Opened in 1940 as the Savoy, this was a popular cinema in Holloway Road until eventually being turned into a pub. It has a nice tiled frontage, but for me, the highlights of the exterior are the exquisite doors:

A nice little history of the building is provided here:

http://hollowayexpress.co.uk/the-coronet-and-the-cinemas-that-once-decorated-holloway-road/

These photos taken in July 2006.

The Holloway Odeon (1938), Islington, London N7

This wonderful building was where I first went to see a movie in the very early 1960s. It's just a few hundred yards from where I was born and was a familiar landmark to me until I moved away from London in the early 1970s. Built in the 1930s, it opened in 1938 and was struck by a V1 rocket during World War II (1944). The back part of the building was later rebuilt, and it reopened in the late 1950s.

The Odeon site on the corner of Holloway Road and Tufnell Park Road. All of these pictures were taken in July 2006, and although the building was, and still is, in use as a cinema, the exterior could do with a bit of a clean and some restoration. It is a beautiful building nevertheless.

Originally called the Gaumont, there is quite a bit of information on this building already available on the Web, starting here:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/4300

Full history here:

http://www.mawgrim.co.uk/cavalcade/holloway.htm

Excellent collection of photos of the building, including vintage interiors, here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcinemaphotos/sets/72157621211450783/

Dosta Playhouse, Valdosta, GA

I had to go to Valdosta for an exam at the college there in 2011, and afterwards went for a wander round the city center. I wasn't disappointed - lots of cool old buildings to photograph, but this one in particular stood out for me - the Dosta Playhouse. Built in 1940/41, it's kind of late for Art Deco, but nevertheless displays sufficient characteristics to be identifiable as such. It's featured on the excellent Cinema Treasures website:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/9941

For me there's lots to like about the design of this facade. Great that local people have loved it enough to restore it and it's used.