Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion

Shepherd's Bush Pavilion
The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion in 2011
Former names	Gaumont Theatre Odeon cinema Top Rank Bingo Mecca Bingo
General information
Type	Hotel; formerly a Cinema
Architectural style	Edwardian, Second Empire
Location	Shepherd's Bush
Address	58 Shepherd's Bush Green
Town or city	London
Country	England
Current tenants	Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, London
Completed	1923, rebuilt 2012–2014
Renovated	damaged in WWII, later renovated
Demolished	largely demolished in 2012; facade alone retained
Owner	Dorsett Hospitality International
Technical details
Structural system	Brick, concrete
Design and construction
Architect	Frank Verity
Awards and prizes	RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade, 1923
Website
www.shepherdsbushpavilion.com
References
Listed Grade II

The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion is a Grade II listed building, currently a hotel, formerly a cinema and bingo hall, in Shepherd's Bush, London. Built in 1923 as a cinema, it was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944. In 1955 it was restored and re-opened, but it changed ownership a number of times, and eventually in 1983 became a bingo hall. The Pavilion closed its doors for good in 2001, and remained empty and disused for much of the next decade. In 2009 planning permission was granted for conversion into a luxury hotel. Demolition work began in 2012, with only a part of the building's façade retained. The re-built hotel, the Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, London, opened in 2014.

The Pavilion was originally built as a cinema, designed by Frank Verity for Israel Davis. It opened in August 1923, when it won the RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade. The panel noted the "imposing structure of brick and stone in which the former material especially is used with great imagination". From the beginning the project was very ambitious – the films were accompanied not by a mere piano but by the Pavilion Symphony Orchestra, and a sophisticated lighting system created colour effects during the films – such as blue lights for rain, or red for fire.

The interior was classical in style, using 3 shades of copper, and seated 3,000 spectators. It had no less than 2 miles of carpet and solid silver lamps for lighting, and was awarded a Bronze Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Much of the sumptuous interior work would be lost when the building was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944, towards the end of World War II, and the original interior was destroyed.

After the war The Pavilion was repaired (though not entirely to the original design), and reopened in 1955 as the Gaumont Theatre. It was then closed again in 1969 for further refurbishment, when a new floor was installed, dividing the large open space into two levels – a cinema upstairs and a Bingo Club below.

In 1974 the Pavilion acquired a new status as a Grade II listed building although, given the war damage and subsequent alterations, little remained of the original interior design or layout.

In 1983 the cinema closed for the last time, leaving the bingo hall open for a while longer. However, in 2001 even the bingo hall closed, and the building fell into disuse.

In both 2004 and 2006 planning permission was given for conversion into a hotel, but investors withdrew from the project owing to the difficulty of converting the building, in particular the relatively small number of rooms, few of which would have enjoyed any natural daylight or views.