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The London Pavilion is a building on the corner of
Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly Cir ...
and
Coventry Street Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretar ...
on the north-east side of Piccadilly Circus in London. It is currently a shopping arcade and part of the Trocadero Centre.


Early history

The first building bearing the name, a
music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
formed from roofing the yard of the Black Horse Inn, was built in 1859 for
Emil Loibl Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...
, and Charles Sonnhammer. A gallery was constructed for the hall but it could not utilize the full width, because one part of the premises was used by Dr. Kahn's "Delectable Museum of Anatomy". In 1885, Shaftesbury Avenue was built through part of the site, and a new London Pavilion Theatre was constructed. This opened on 30 November 1885 with a popular revue. The new theatre was the first 'music hall deluxe', with
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
-topped tables for dining in the auditorium. According to Charles Stuart and A. J. Park in ''The Variety Stage'' (1895) the rebuilding signaled a new era of
variety theatre Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compèr ...
:
Hitherto the halls had borne unmistakable evidence of their origins, but the last vestiges of their old connections were now thrown aside, and they emerged in all the splendour of their new-born glory. The highest efforts of the architect, the designer and the decorator were enlisted in their service, and the gaudy and tawdry music hall of the past gave way to the resplendent 'theatre of varieties' of the present day, with its classic exterior of marble and freestone, its lavishly appointed auditorium and its elegant and luxurious foyers and promenades brilliantly illuminated by myriad electric lights


20th century

The success of the venture led its owner, Villiers, to form a limited company; this became the first combine of music halls, Syndicate Halls Ltd.
Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/director/actr ...
made his London début here in 1903, as "Nipper Lane". Between 1912 and 1936, the theatre presented a regular programme of musicals; these included
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
's first success, ''On With the Dance'' in April 1925. There were appearances by Sir
Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...
; in October 1921, the American actor and vocalist
Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, i ...
appeared here in ''Fun of the Fayre'' and again in October the following year as Phidas in ''Phi-Phi''. In 1923, electric billboards were erected for the first time on the side of the building."Shaftesbury Avenue", ''Survey of London'': volumes 31 and 32: St James Westminster, Part 2
(1963), pp. 68–84 accessed 13 October 2007
In 1934, the building underwent significant structural alteration, and was converted into a cinema at a cost of £70,000 by F. G. M. Chancellor, of
Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...
and Co. Intended as London outlet to premiere films released by
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
, the first film to be screened at the Pavilion was the
Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)The Private Life of Don Juan ''The Private Life of Don Juan'' is a 1934 British comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon and Benita Hume. At the age of 51, it was the final role of Fairbanks, who died five years later. The f ...
'' which was shown from 5 September 1934; Korda had recently signed an agreement with the American company to release his films. For the première of ''
The Curse of Frankenstein ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' is a 1957 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions, loosely based on the 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus '' by Mary Shelley. It was Hammer's first colour horror film, and the first of t ...
'' in May 1957, the foyer was revamped to look like Frankenstein's laboratory, complete with the Monster in a tank. In October 1962 it premiered '' Dr. No'', the first James Bond film, and in July 1964 was the venue for the premiere of '' A Hard Day's Night''. The cinema closed on 26 April 1981 and the site remained in limbo for some years. In 1986, the interior of the building was gutted and converted into a shopping arcade, preserving only the 1885 façade and the outer walls and roof. A wax figure exhibition opened in the building that same year, run by the
Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
Group, called ''
Rock Circus Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus (August 1989 – September 2001), was a walk-through exhibition celebrating the history of rock and pop music, featuring its major figures recreated in wax. It was located at the top four floors of the then-newly refu ...
''. The exhibition consisted of waxworks of rock and pop musicians. The ''Rock Circus'' exhibition closed in September 2001.


Twenty-first century

In 2000, the building became part of the Trocadero Centre, and signage on the building was altered in 2003 to read London Trocadero. The basement of the building connects with
Piccadilly Circus tube station Piccadilly Circus is a London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself, with entrances at every corner. Located in Travel-card Zone 1, the station is on the Piccadilly line between Green Park and Leicester Squa ...
and the rest of the Trocadero Centre. The London Pavilion housed
Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...
, a visitor attraction dedicated to the weird and unusual, which was open from August 2008 until 25 September 2017. On 6 October 2018,
Body Worlds London ''Body Worlds'' (German title: ''Körperwelten'') is a traveling exposition of dissected human bodies, animals, and other anatomical structures of the body that have been preserved through the process of plastination. Gunther von Hagens develo ...
opened in the London Pavilion; the exhibition displays more than 200 real human bodies and organ specimens preserved through the method of
Plastination Plastination is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts, first developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or ...
.


References and sources

;References ;Sources * ''Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950'', John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 123 (Theatres Trust, 2000) * ''Who's Who in the Theatre'', edited by John Parker, 10th edition revised, London, 1947, p. 1429.


External links

{{commons category, London Pavilion
Trocadero Centre
1859 establishments in the United Kingdom Former cinemas in London Former music hall venues in the United Kingdom Former theatres in London Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Music venues completed in 1859 Music venues completed in 1885 Theatres completed in 1859 Theatres completed in 1885 Tourist attractions in London