1859 London Pavilion Music Hall | |
 Façade of the London Pavilion in 2002 | |
 Interactive map of London Pavilion | |
| Address | Shaftesbury Avenue Westminster, London |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′37″N0°08′02″W / 51.510278°N 0.133889°W /51.510278; -0.133889 |
| Owner | Burford Group |
| Designation | Grade II listed[1] |
| Current use | Trocadero Centre |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1859 |
| Rebuilt | 1900 & 1918 Wylson & Long 1934 converted to cinema by F Chancellor |
| Years active | 1859–1934 |
| Architect | James Ebenezer Saunders andRobert Worley (1885) |
| Website | |
| londontrocadero | |
TheLondon Pavilion is a building on the corner ofShaftesbury Avenue andCoventry Street on the north-east side ofPiccadilly Circus inWestminster. It previously formed part of theTrocadero Centre.
The first building bearing the name, amusic hall formed from roofing the yard of the Black Horse Inn, was built in 1859 forEmil Loibl, andCharles 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".[2]
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.[4] The new theatre was the first 'music hall deluxe', withmarble-topped tables for dining in the auditorium. According to Charles Stuart and A. J. Park inThe Variety Stage (1895) the rebuilding signaled a new era ofvariety theatre:
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
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 made his London début here in 1903, as "Nipper Lane".[5]
Between 1912 and 1936, the theatre presented a regular programme of musicals; these includedNoël Coward's first success,On With the Dance in April 1925. There were appearances by SirHarry Lauder; in October 1921, the American actor and vocalistClifton Webb appeared here inFun of the Fayre and again in October the following year as Phidas inPhi-Phi. In 1923, electric billboards were erected for the first time on the side of the building.[6]
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, ofFrank Matcham and Co.[6] Intended as London outlet to premiere films released byUnited Artists, the first film to be screened at the Pavilion was theAlexander Korda releaseThe Private Life of Don Juan which was shown from 5 September 1934; Korda had recently signed an agreement with the American company to release his films.[7] For the première ofThe Curse of Frankenstein in May 1957, the foyer was revamped to look like Frankenstein's laboratory, complete with the Monster in a tank.[8] In October 1962 it premieredDr. No, the firstJames Bond film, and in July 1964 was the venue for the premiere ofA Hard Day's Night. The cinema closed on 26 April 1981 and the site remained in limbo for some years.[9][10]
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 theMadame Tussauds Group, calledRock Circus. The exhibition consisted of waxworks of rock and pop musicians. TheRock Circus exhibition closed in September 2001.
In 2000, the building became part of theTrocadero Centre, and signage on the building was altered in 2003 to readLondon Trocadero. The basement of the building connects withPiccadilly Circus tube station and the rest of the Trocadero Centre.
The London Pavilion housedRipley's Believe It or Not!, 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 opened in the London Pavilion; the exhibition displayed more than 200 real human bodies and organ specimens preserved through the method ofPlastination.[citation needed]
The majority of the building was later used as a hotel, which opened September 2025. The upper levels were converted into aCapsule hotel operated by Zedwell, with access of Great Windmill Street, featuring almost 1,000 windowless sleeping capsules.[11]
