Shields Road, Apollo Cinema

The Apollo was officially opened on 28 December 1933, Pascal Steinlet being the architect. In May 1941 the cinema took a direct hit from a German bomb. For years after the War the remains of the Apollo were a vast advertising hoarding. Finally in 1955, permission was given to rebuild the Apollo to its 1933 plan. The main façade was virtually unaltered from the original. The new Apollo opened in March 1956. In 1962, the owners decided that bingo would be more profitable and closed it. In June 1964 the Apollo was reopened as a cinema. The Apollo Entertainment Centre closed in october 1983. In 1989 it was opened by Autospray as a car maintenance centre. The foyer was attractively redesigned, but the most eyecatching feature was the rear of a red mini car protruding from the façade. The interior retained none of the cinema features. The front elevation was cement render finished in white. The internal decorationincluded unusual design features, such as a domed ceiling was the figure of a modern Apollo on a modern throne with the sun behind, with telephone and cocktail on the arms. Now demolished.