The Ace Cinema, originally the Grosvenor Cinema and now known as the Zoroastrian Centre, is a Grade II* listed

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

former cinema in

Rayners Lane Rayners Lane is a suburban district in the London Borough of Harrow that forms the western part of Harrow. Located between Pinner and West Harrow, it takes its name from a road in the area, also called Rayners Lane (formerly also spelt ''Rayner ...

in the

London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...

Building

The cinema is streamlined Art Deco in style, the facade featuring a central concrete sculpted design of a stylized elephant's head with trunk. The auditorium has a circle that originally seated 405 and stalls that originally seated 830. There was originally a stage 44 feet deep and six dressing rooms,Kev Phelan
"Grosvenor Cinema"
at ''Cinema Treasures'', retrieved 10 October 2019. and the oval foyer has a sunken area that contained a café.

History

The cinema was designed by Frank Ernest Bromige and opened as the Grosvenor Cinema on 12 October 1936, showing '' The Country Doctor''. On 5 May 1937 it became part of the

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

chain; it was subsequently renamed the Odeon in 1941, the Gaumont in 1950, and once more the Odeon in 1964, by which time the seating had been reduced from the original 1,235 to 1,185.Allen Eyles, ''Odeon Cinemas'' Volume 2: ''From J. Arthur Rank to the Multiplex'', London: Cinema Theatre Association, 2005, , p. 244. After the Harrow borough council refused an application by Odeon's parent organisation

Rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

to convert the cinema into a

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

hall, it was acquired by Ace, a small independent group, and on 1 October 1981 became the Ace Cinema;Eyles, p. 138. it was closed on 6 October 1986. From 1991 it was the Grosvenor Cine/Bar Experience, with the Ace Bar

wine bar A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, ...

in the foyer and a

night club A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

, Studio Warehouse, in the auditorium. This closed later in the decade, after which the building was unused until 2000, when the Zoroastrian Centre for Europe acquired it; it is now the Zoroastrian Centre. The building was Grade II listed on 13 March 1981 and upgraded to Grade II* on 27 January 1984, at which time it was noted as the least altered example of a late 1930s cinema in this style.

References

External links

* Art Deco architecture in London Former cinemas in London Grade II* listed cinemas Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Harrow {{London-struct-stub