Fantastic video, thank you! My dad used to take me to the "cartoon cinema" at Victoria Station when I was a youngster on a regular basis during the late '60s. We'd drive over from Battersea. He was Polish having served in the Polish navy during the war & settled in the UK. He was quite a serious man & I dont recall him laughing or joking much but when 'Laurel & Hardy' was shown he would ROAR with laughter. Lol, I remember sinking into my seat bieng so embarrased by his loud laughter but, now, have such fond & poignant memories of this time. Thanks again for this.
@@Robslondon Thanks for the nod. Yes, he had a good & prosperous life on the whole. Miss him dearly & wish I'd paid more attention to his pre-war & war time experiences instead of being the stroppy teenager I was, lol. On another note, you'd mentioned boutique cinemas making a comeback. I recall the 'Paris Pullman' on Drayton Gardens. They used to do all-nighters in the mid-70s ('Duel', 'American Graffiti', 'Ice Station Zebra', 'Farenheit 451', etc) it was a great place to get your movie-fix without paying a fortune. Any chance you'll do a piece on that? All the best!
With my Nan living in Victoria/Pimlico area it was a treat as a young lad in the mid to late 70s to go to Victoria station and the cartoon cinema. The cartoons were brilliant and looped around so no matter when you went in if you stayed long enough you watched them over and over. I remember the cartoons, the sticky carpet, the dingy station area and the scuffed stairs to go in (far different then the days of it opening I expect). Probably my Mum or Nan hated it ... but I loved it. It was a wonderful simple life as a kid. A drink, some sweets and the amazing cartoons. I worked at Waterloo from 1986 and I vaguely remember the cinema area and the building over the taxi road but not very well. Great video and memories of a simpler and happier life
I went to the one at Victoria a couple of times with my late father in the 60's and 70's. My parents moved down to Crawley in 1955, and I was born down there in '63. We often came back to London on the train from Three Bridges for various reasons though, and stopped off to watch some newsreels and cartoons there on more than one occasion. I was unaware of the other one at Waterloo. Crawley itself had a cinema steeped in history, as it predated the New Town by over 20 years, this too was demolished, more recently, in the name of redevelopment.
Absolutely brilliant history of London I only remember it from 1968, the theatre land area as a young lad. All I remember was my uncle say be careful that lady may educate more than your mum and dad would like. Never understood till a few years later on. I am from up North but my grandparents lived in High Wycombe, plus my uncles so days trip to London then. Don't remember the News reel theatre. Must have had my eyes closed after the ladies of the night. Thank you again for sharing it with us all. 👍👍🥂
What a brilliant video about the cinema’s at Victoria and Waterloo, I recently watched the film containing the 1944 Waterloo station cinema, but I still remember going to the cinema at Victoria when it showed cartoons back in the 1960’s, such a shame they’ve both gone, even in today’s modern world I’m quite sure that they would attract a lot of interest. Thank you Rob for reviving some happy childhood memories, absolutely fabulous.
A treat for me when I was young was for my dad & I to make the short walk from our tenament to Vauxhall Station then get on the Usual Green-Liveried EMU to Waterloo & go to the Cinema to watch a few Cartoons & what ever other features were being shown. A bit of train watching then back home in reverse. Great days.
Wow! Had heard of the cinemas but didn’t know how beautiful they looked! What a shame they are lost (besides the silhouette in the steps)! Another quality production! Thank you again for your awesome videos, myself and my grandparents (East End Londoners through and through! ) love your videos. Very fitting that the last was a Hitchcock film with Hitch being a Londoner from Leytonstone
I remember the cinemas well! When I was a school boy, My Dad was a rail engineer and would do jobs at Victoria, Waterloo and other stations like St Pancras. I would often go with him in the school holidays and go to the cinemas while I was waiting for him. I thought it very grown-up and glamourous!
Totally fascinating and never knew they existed and I have been through both stations many times. The architecture was amazing and a shame they no longer exist. I'm sure if they had, they would be of great interest, considering how sterile architecture and cinemas are now. An era that has now gone and sadly by most forgotten . Thanks for uploading this.
That bit of red painted render revealing the position of the steps was so evocative. A fantastic story behind such au unremarkable feature. Great vid Rob, very enjoyable. Subbed.
I remember seeing the one at Victoria in the late 1950s. There was also a News Cinema at Baker Street station that showed Pathe News and cartoons, which I went to a few times in the 1960s.
Many thanks! Yes, I’d heard about the Baker Street cinema but don’t know too much about it… can you remember how far down it was? There is a cinema on Baker St; wondering if it’s the same one? Cheers
@@Robslondon The Cinema was at the right hand corner of the Station frontage situated in the Euston Rd .Madan Tussauds and The Planitarium wher on the other sid of the cab road.
I can vaguely remember being taken to the Victoria one around 1970. It was my first trip to London and, as a youngster of maybe 8yrs, this was one of the highlights for me. By then, it was a "Cartoon Theatre" and, a a treat, I was taken there in the late(ish) evening, on the way back to our nearby B+B. A constant feed of Looney Tunes was quite a thrill at the time; we had just got b+w tv at home but cartoons were a rare treat in those days and the tv would only show one at a time. Even as a bairn, I could appreciate that the cinama was a bit of a flea-pit but, armed with a Kia-ora and a wee pot of ice-cream sundae, I loved it, especially at about nine at night, in the wondrous lightshow of central London. I can easily associate many cliches with the experience but it's a lasting memory, a simple pleasure by today's standards but one I've often thought of in the sixty years since. Seems like a shame that today's kid will never have that "thrill" but .......... would they even want to? Thanks for this Rob, thoroughly enjoyed it and never knew there was another one at Waterloo.
I always love the art deco cinema design both inside and out and always dressed up to go to see films. I like rolling programmes you could pay and stay as long as you wanted.
Fantastic! I knew nothing (or nothing that's still in my memory) about these, despite claiming to have an encyclopedic knowledge of anything transport related. Well done for bringing these fascinating cinemas to a new audience.
Victoria News cinema was my local - by which I mean in walking distance - and I used to go regularly, about once a week or so in the early 1960s. Being about 8 years old, I found the Pathe Newsreels to be mostly boring. These typically showed some aviation development or disaster, a royal visit overseas, something or other from showbiz, rounded up with footage of a recent sporting event. The main items that held my attention were the cartoons and the weekly serial. These serials were about twenty minutes long and always ended on a cliffhanger and we were told to come back the following week if we wanted to know whether the hero survived. (Spoiler alert - he always did). One other interesting thing about the Victoria: it was where I saw my first live music gig. I don't remember their name, but they were a skiffle group and they did a spirited version of "Tom Dooley"
What a great video and I shall now spend hours looking at the rest in this channel! As a child we used to walk from our Kennington house to the Waterloo cinema several times a year for a happy hour of cartoons. Perhaps our favourite treat, which required us to behave ourselves for many days in advance. It is such a shame that it wasn't preserved for summer other purpose after time overtook it
Got taken to the "Cartoon" theatre at Victoria several times by my Dad during the 70s for bumper sessions of Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Daffy Duck etc. Still remember it clearly. Often wondered what happened to it. Shame both cinemas didn't survive as they would more than likely be treasured now just for the architectural design alone.
Fantastic research Robert! I still remember seeing newsreels at the beginning of feature film screenings here in Australia in the '50's & 60's. Television only started here in 1956 with the Melbourne Olympic Games... Never knew London had station theatrettes!
Thank you for this. I knew about these 2 cinemas but never actually saw them and always wanted to know more about them. So much history and heritage lost never to be seen again.
I spent many a happy hour in the Waterloo cinema, when I was supposed to be in school. It was great in the winter as it was nice and warm with a ready supply of drinks and snacks.
When we bunked off school, or hopping the Charlie wag as we called it in the 1950's, we used to spend the afternoon in the Waterloo News Theatre. Our school was just a cross the road in Exton Street. St John's and all Saints...anybody remember it?
Teriffic video Rob. Very informative; I had no idea Victoria and Waterloo stations had cinemas in the past. As you mention in the video, strikingly stylish Art Deco architecture and yes, it is a pity they weren't kept and re-purposed.
Thanks Rob for another fascinating video! It’s such a shame these beautiful art deco buildings were swept away. I vaguely remember the Victoria one, and my father took me to the Piccadilly one, what was then showing cartoons.
I am so sad that those beautiful cinemas have gone. They were beautiful venues and would have done well today I think. Would you consider making a film about the cartoon cinemas in 60’s London, they showed Warner brothers cartoons and my parents took me there a lot. Thanks for another great film.
Thanks for this very interesting video Rob. I remember visiting The Waterloo news cinema in the 1960s just for the experience. A friend and myself had gone to Waterloo to do a bit of engine spotting during the last days of steam. As well as the news I do remember watching a few cartoons. I was not aware of that there was similar cinema at Charing Cross. All part of London's vanished history.
I can remember going to the one at Victoria Station on several Sundays during the late 1970’s with my Dad. Cartoons and the Flash Gordon serial were shown regularly
You were so spot on with your comments on a new lease of life, had they still been in situ. Its amazing to think how Cinema changed between the 50s and 2000s. In my old home town of Southend, there was 7 or 8 Cinemas all within a couple of minutes of each other in the heyday. Its now down to just 1 multi screen, but that only came about after there was a decline for cinemas in the late 80s and throught the 90s. Maybe because of DVD and Blue RAY and things like SKY and Virgin becoming more and more popular to have at home. Its great to see the Cinema come back though. I love film, and as much as I do watch a lot at home, there are certain films you simply have to see on the big screen with great sound. All the best to you.
Great comment John. I’m very fond of Southend, would often go there when I was a kid. Had no idea it had that many cinemas at one time though; incredible! Thanks again and stay well.
@@Robslondon oh wow. You don't sound that old on your narration.... I would love to meet you for a pint or two and chat about the history of Southend and London one day.
As a young lad, I spent many an hour or so at the Waterloo 'News Theatre' watching cartoons. TRIVIA: The fly on the wall film about Waterloo station 'Terminus' was directed by John Schlesinger, who went on to direct Hollywood films like Midnight Cowboy.
Victoria was my local cinema as a kid, it was a weekly treat, in the mid to late 60s. We were dropped of there while our parents did the weekly shop in Warwick way. The news reels were pretty boring to a kid but the serials and cartoons were great. Was my first experience of cinema. Great to see images of the old building.
Well done, this is absolutely fascinating. My father used to take me to all three of these cinemas and I loved them because I could watch cartoons non-stop, apart from some clips of an orchestra from one of the big studios - probably MGM - playing pieces of classical music. I couldn't wait for the music to stop so that we could get back to the cartoons!
The amount of times I’ve been to Waterloo and I never knew about this at all. What beautiful Art Deco buildings - thanks for a very informative and interesting video as always ❤️
Just found your channel and subscribed. I love all things railway related and art deco cinemas too. I really enjoyed this video and learned something I that I had not known about to boot. Many thanks. 🙂
What a wonderful video! Thank you! I come from Hornsey in North London and use to go to the Saturday morning cinema at The Odeon Muswell Hill N10, still survives and is a magnificent piece of architecture. As I got older I’d go to the cinema with my friends to that odeon, but also the ABC Cinema in Turnpike Lane N22 which no longer exists. There was also another ABC at the top of Muswell Hill, but sadly I don’t remember that architecture.
Thank you so much for this video! I'm currently doing some research on Waterloo News Theatre and this has been really helpful. Lots of great photos. Would have been very cool to see these places whilst they still stood.
I used to pester my parents as we went through Victoria in the late 60s, early 70s to see the cartoons. Before video cassettes arrived, it was the only to see carttons, on demand, that I can remember. My memory is they normally gave way, bless them.
On the Waterloo site they placed a moving advertising billboard which featured in an exciting scene in the film The Bourne Ultimatum. A sniper is up there and Jason Bourne is trying to stop him. Great information on this channel and I only subscribed 2 days ago.
Thanks Rob - another interesting and informative video. I remember the Victoria cartoon cinema but sadly never visited it. I was just a lad when it closed.
I'm almost sure I was taken to the news theatre at Victoria when I was a very small girl. I know my father liked to go there while waiting for his train to Sussex. Mind you, I saw a fair few newsreels when I was young - they were a great feature of cinemas back in the day, when not everybody had a television.
Another very interesting video. These two picture houses as i called them did not jump out in my memory, in the latter days of active life most of my traveling was done by car. All the local cinemas to me when i was a child are all but closed apart from one, the Odeon Streatham High Road. all my visits to the Odeon were good apart from one !! we were marched from school to go and see Laurence Olivier in Richard 111 not a good film for ten year old boys "Nightmare"
A fascinating cinematographic journey back in time, Rob, with some great research and archive footage. You're right, these cinemas were no match for television, but it's pleasing to see Waterloo cinema's 'spiritual successor'. I spent my childhood down the line from Waterloo and clearly remember in the late 1950s asking my parents if we could go to the station's cinema to watch the cartoons; we didn't have TV. I was rewarded one day on our way home from London! I'm sure we can't have stayed longer than half an hour, as we had a train to catch! It was a memorable experience nonetheless, although I was probably too excited about seeing cartoon films than appreciating the Art Deco styling!
i lived very near waterloo and can remember the cinema and going to it in the late sixties. there was also a booth on the concourse where you could talk etc into a microphone and make a recording which would be imprinted on one of those flimsy plastic records which would play at 45rpm.
I well remember the Victoria Cinema from 1960/1 when I lived with my parents in Army Married Quarters at the back of Wellington Barracks. When I got under their feet, they would give me a Shilling entrance fee and I would take the short ten minute walk to watch the cartoons and the newsreels. I remember the auditorium used to be full of smoke which made swirling patterns through the flickering projector and the smell of stale urine which used to permeate the place. It was a real flea-pit back then but you could sit there all day and watch the show as many times as you liked. Happy days.
There was also a news cinema in Baker Street Tube Station, in the Chilton Court building above the station, with an entrance from the station booking hall.
As a young teenager i can remember getting a train from Bromley south to Victoria to watch cartoons at the News Theatre there. This would have been the early 60's I guess and I seem to remember it being a little run down, but it was a long time ago and I could be wrong about that.
Hi Rob, just catching up on your content. What fascinating buildings and a shame they have gone. It was great to see in the war period the YMCA had tea bars in there. All credit too for the brave firefighters who helped save St Paul's Cathedral. I think it was featured in a recent TV documentary about British air aids in WW2. I'm going to catch up on your London pubs series next. Cheers DougT in Mancs
Last year I was at Leeds station. Walking along the ‘30s North Concourse re-opened a few years ago towards the exit onto Aire Street at the far end there is a large uplighter which looks like it might be at home on the London Underground. Near this, on the right hand side there is a stone set into the ground bearing the words ‘News Theatre’; I didn’t know there had been one there. I think the auditorium may have been within the hotel building. I’m told that one also existed at Grand Central Terminal in New York.
Thanks Stephen. Yes, when I was researching this I heard there was a cinema at Leeds station but couldn’t confirm it. It may have been the only one outside London, but don’t quote me on that! I believe they wanted to build ones in Manchester and Glasgow too, but they never went ahead. Thanks and stay well.
Pearl and Dean adverts. ❤️ I remember the tiny cinema at Piccadilly Circus that showed the same sort of program, as the two cinemas your talking about, until the seventies. I always wanted to go into it, during the sixties when I was a kid, but even by then it probably wasn't a good place to go, because my parents wouldn't let me.
A very interesting video. I remember trips to London as a child in the late 50s and early 60s with my father always included at least one visit to a cartoon/news theatre, though not as I recall the Waterloo venue. After closing as a cinema it was turned into a small film studio by a company called Rockflicks, that made music videos. I worked there as a camera assistant on several of their productions in the 1980s.
I remember seeing the Waterloo one - and remembered correctly where it was - but as I suspected it was no longer in operation by this time (late 70s / early 80s). Surprised that the Victoria cinema persisted for so much longer.
I have a very, very dim memory of the Victoria cinema from the mid-1960s, when I would have been around six years old. We would have been on the long journey from North Wales to Switzerland by train and ferry and I guess we would have gone in there before catching the boat train to Folkestone. Can't remember what we saw, though it could have been some sort of newsreel. I think I was mildly surprised even at that age that a station would have a cinema in it; there was certainly nothing like that at Bangor or Holyhead...
Well this yank didn't know anything about these theaters, of course they were before my time, but I found the video fascinating and very very interesting!
Hello as a small child in the late 50’s my dad use to take me on a train from battersea to Waterloo station and go to The Waterloo cinema, I remember seeing some of the John Wayne B movies and I’m still a big fan of John Wayne movies It is good but sad to know what happened to the cinema, as I got older I went with friends to the Granada in battersea for Saturday morning pictures,sadly that is no longer a cinema, we moved out of London in the late 60’s
Fantastic video, thank you! My dad used to take me to the "cartoon cinema" at Victoria Station when I was a youngster on a regular basis during the late '60s. We'd drive over from Battersea. He was Polish having served in the Polish navy during the war & settled in the UK. He was quite a serious man & I dont recall him laughing or joking much but when 'Laurel & Hardy' was shown he would ROAR with laughter. Lol, I remember sinking into my seat bieng so embarrased by his loud laughter but, now, have such fond & poignant memories of this time. Thanks again for this.
Thank you so much Frank, I love this comment and found it very moving. I hope your dad had a good life here 🇵🇱Take care my friend and stay well.
@@Robslondon Thanks for the nod. Yes, he had a good & prosperous life on the whole. Miss him dearly & wish I'd paid more attention to his pre-war & war time experiences instead of being the stroppy teenager I was, lol.
On another note, you'd mentioned boutique cinemas making a comeback. I recall the 'Paris Pullman' on Drayton Gardens. They used to do all-nighters in the mid-70s ('Duel', 'American Graffiti', 'Ice Station Zebra', 'Farenheit 451', etc) it was a great place to get your movie-fix without paying a fortune. Any chance you'll do a piece on that?
All the best!
@@frankandrew6703 Cheers Andrew 🙂I didn't know about that cinema... I'll bear it in mind if I do a video around that area. Cheers and stay well.
With my Nan living in Victoria/Pimlico area it was a treat as a young lad in the mid to late 70s to go to Victoria station and the cartoon cinema. The cartoons were brilliant and looped around so no matter when you went in if you stayed long enough you watched them over and over. I remember the cartoons, the sticky carpet, the dingy station area and the scuffed stairs to go in (far different then the days of it opening I expect). Probably my Mum or Nan hated it ... but I loved it. It was a wonderful simple life as a kid. A drink, some sweets and the amazing cartoons.
I worked at Waterloo from 1986 and I vaguely remember the cinema area and the building over the taxi road but not very well.
Great video and memories of a simpler and happier life
Love your comments Part Time Spotter, thanks for watching.
Makes me sad to lose these. That was one of my favorite eras of architecture. Good job!
Thank you
I went to the one at Victoria a couple of times with my late father in the 60's and 70's. My parents moved down to Crawley in 1955, and I was born down there in '63. We often came back to London on the train from Three Bridges for various reasons though, and stopped off to watch some newsreels and cartoons there on more than one occasion. I was unaware of the other one at Waterloo. Crawley itself had a cinema steeped in history, as it predated the New Town by over 20 years, this too was demolished, more recently, in the name of redevelopment.
Thanks for sharing those memories Ian. Stay well.
Went to the Waterloo NT a lot in the 1950s: fond memories.
Absolutely brilliant history of London I only remember it from 1968, the theatre land area as a young lad. All I remember was my uncle say be careful that lady may educate more than your mum and dad would like. Never understood till a few years later on. I am from up North but my grandparents lived in High Wycombe, plus my uncles so days trip to London then. Don't remember the News reel theatre. Must have had my eyes closed after the ladies of the night. Thank you again for sharing it with us all. 👍👍🥂
Ha ha 😉 Cheers Bob!
What a brilliant video about the cinema’s at Victoria and Waterloo, I recently watched the film containing the 1944 Waterloo station cinema, but I still remember going to the cinema at Victoria when it showed cartoons back in the 1960’s, such a shame they’ve both gone, even in today’s modern world I’m quite sure that they would attract a lot of interest. Thank you Rob for reviving some happy childhood memories, absolutely fabulous.
Thank you so much for sharing those wonderful memories, Peter- glad you enjoyed it! Thanks again and stay well.
A treat for me when I was young was for my dad & I to make the short walk from our tenament to Vauxhall Station then get on the Usual Green-Liveried EMU to Waterloo & go to the Cinema to watch a few Cartoons & what ever other features were being shown. A bit of train watching then back home in reverse. Great days.
Thanks for sharing that Tom; a lovely, atmospheric memory 😊 Stay well.
Wow! Had heard of the cinemas but didn’t know how beautiful they looked! What a shame they are lost (besides the silhouette in the steps)! Another quality production! Thank you again for your awesome videos, myself and my grandparents (East End Londoners through and through! ) love your videos. Very fitting that the last was a Hitchcock film with Hitch being a Londoner from Leytonstone
Thank you so much! Best wishes to you and your grandparents; really appreciate your support. Stay well 😊
I just love original Artdeco and Bauhaus & Lecorbusier style buildings!
Same here ;-)
@@Robslondon Some music from these buildings grand epoque: th-cam.com/video/i8xcX3mMAFo/w-d-xo.html
@@Schlipperschlopper This is glorious 😍 Thanks so much for sharing.
@@Robslondon I love watching pictures of 1930s buildings and listen to this old music th-cam.com/video/_OHPwxyiQt0/w-d-xo.html
@@Schlipperschlopper You have excellent taste! I’ve subscribed to your channel; some wonderful stuff there. Stay well.
I remember the cinemas well! When I was a school boy, My Dad was a rail engineer and would do jobs at Victoria, Waterloo and other stations like St Pancras. I would often go with him in the school holidays and go to the cinemas while I was waiting for him. I thought it very grown-up and glamourous!
Lovely memory Wayne, thanks for sharing!
Totally fascinating and never knew they existed and I have been through both stations many times. The architecture was amazing and a shame they no longer exist. I'm sure if they had, they would be of great interest, considering how sterile architecture and cinemas are now. An era that has now gone and sadly by most forgotten . Thanks for uploading this.
It’s a pleasure; and many thanks for the kind words and interesting thoughts. Stay well.
That bit of red painted render revealing the position of the steps was so evocative. A fantastic story behind such au unremarkable feature. Great vid Rob, very enjoyable. Subbed.
Thanks so much; really appreciate your kind words and support. Stay well :-)
Thank you for posting. I remember my mum taking me to the Victoria cinema during the early 70’s, very happy memories.
You're very welcome Scott; thanks and stay well.
Another great ad unexpected video! This channel is a hidden gem, although I don't know for how much longer!
Thanks Dylan 😉
I remember seeing the one at Victoria in the late 1950s. There was also a News Cinema at Baker Street station that showed Pathe News and cartoons, which I went to a few times in the 1960s.
Many thanks! Yes, I’d heard about the Baker Street cinema but don’t know too much about it… can you remember how far down it was? There is a cinema on Baker St; wondering if it’s the same one? Cheers
@@Robslondon The Cinema was at the right hand corner of the Station frontage situated in the Euston Rd .Madan Tussauds and The Planitarium wher on the other sid of the cab road.
@@chrismerridan101 Interesting; thanks for this Chris.
This is the first time i've heard of this since the times as a kid i watched cartoons at Victoria Cinema .
😄
This was amazing. Both looked so classy and stylish. Shame they disappeared. Art Deco was IMO the best design style to have ever existed.
Thanks; nice thoughts. Stay well.
I can vaguely remember being taken to the Victoria one around 1970. It was my first trip to London and, as a youngster of maybe 8yrs, this was one of the highlights for me. By then, it was a "Cartoon Theatre" and, a a treat, I was taken there in the late(ish) evening, on the way back to our nearby B+B. A constant feed of Looney Tunes was quite a thrill at the time; we had just got b+w tv at home but cartoons were a rare treat in those days and the tv would only show one at a time. Even as a bairn, I could appreciate that the cinama was a bit of a flea-pit but, armed with a Kia-ora and a wee pot of ice-cream sundae, I loved it, especially at about nine at night, in the wondrous lightshow of central London.
I can easily associate many cliches with the experience but it's a lasting memory, a simple pleasure by today's standards but one I've often thought of in the sixty years since. Seems like a shame that today's kid will never have that "thrill" but .......... would they even want to?
Thanks for this Rob, thoroughly enjoyed it and never knew there was another one at Waterloo.
Thank so much for sharing; those are beautiful, evocative memories. Stay well.
Yay! One of the treats of a London trip in the 1960s was the Cartoon Cinema at Victoria, part of childhood fondly remembered.
Nice memory :-) Thanks for sharing and stay well!
I absolutely love your videos. Only found you recently but I've devoured your channel. It's fascinating and oh so well produced. ❤
Thanks so much Kelly; that means a lot to me 😊 Great to have you here; stay well.
I like the Pearl and Dean intro, and an interesting video
Thanks 😉
I always love the art deco cinema design both inside and out and always dressed up to go to see films. I like rolling programmes you could pay and stay as long as you wanted.
Fantastic! I knew nothing (or nothing that's still in my memory) about these, despite claiming to have an encyclopedic knowledge of anything transport related. Well done for bringing these fascinating cinemas to a new audience.
It’s a pleasure Peter; many thanks for the kind words. Stay well.
Super video, brings back a lot of memories, very well produced, thank you.
Thank so much James, that means a lot to me. Stay well.
Victoria News cinema was my local - by which I mean in walking distance - and I used to go regularly, about once a week or so in the early 1960s. Being about 8 years old, I found the Pathe Newsreels to be mostly boring. These typically showed some aviation development or disaster, a royal visit overseas, something or other from showbiz, rounded up with footage of a recent sporting event. The main items that held my attention were the cartoons and the weekly serial. These serials were about twenty minutes long and always ended on a cliffhanger and we were told to come back the following week if we wanted to know whether the hero survived. (Spoiler alert - he always did). One other interesting thing about the Victoria: it was where I saw my first live music gig. I don't remember their name, but they were a skiffle group and they did a spirited version of "Tom Dooley"
This is brilliant, thanks so much for sharing your memories Richard.
I went to the Victoria cinema to watch cartoons in the 70s. I had thought of it as being near the tube station, but I was wrong.
Very well researched. Hadn’t realised Victoria cinema was still in use when I moved to London so gutted I never went to see it.
Many thanks Will. Wish I could’ve seen it too 😕 Stay well.
Wonderful stuff , great history thank you
Cheers Jas, stay well.
What a great video and I shall now spend hours looking at the rest in this channel! As a child we used to walk from our Kennington house to the Waterloo cinema several times a year for a happy hour of cartoons. Perhaps our favourite treat, which required us to behave ourselves for many days in advance. It is such a shame that it wasn't preserved for summer other purpose after time overtook it
such a lovely comment, thank you! Hope you enjoy my other videos!
Very cool, lovely style too. I enjoy watching the old news videos on you tube these days.
Thank you 😊
I just discovered your channel and I LOVE it! So look forward to more.
Thank you so much Priscilla! Great to have you here! And thank you for the kind words :-) Stay well.
Extraordinary examples of Art Deco, sad that they were scuppered. Thank you for the wonderful video.
It's a pleasure Irish Tino, thanks for the kind words :-)
Got taken to the "Cartoon" theatre at Victoria several times by my Dad during the 70s for bumper sessions of Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Daffy Duck etc. Still remember it clearly. Often wondered what happened to it. Shame both cinemas didn't survive as they would more than likely be treasured now just for the architectural design alone.
Yes, it’s tragic isn’t it 😒 Lovely memories though, thanks for sharing
..same here, my dad used me as an excuse to see cartoons I think
That was fascinating, I never knew these cinemas even existed! What a sad loss of the superb Art Deco architecture.
Fantastic research Robert!
I still remember seeing newsreels at the beginning of feature film screenings here in Australia in the '50's & 60's.
Television only started here in 1956 with the Melbourne Olympic Games...
Never knew London had station theatrettes!
Thanks Bryan, lovely memories 😊
Excellent work. Just, excellent.
Thank you so much Jatz. Your kind words mean a lot to me. Stay well.
What a fascinating and enthralling presentation. I never knew these wonderful cinemas existed. Many thanks for posting.
It’s a pleasure Allan, and thank you for the kind words! Stay well.
Wonderful! I went to the Piccadilly Cartoon Cinema around 1969! Looking forward to more videos!
Cheers Keith; much appreciated!
Thank you for this. I knew about these 2 cinemas but never actually saw them and always wanted to know more about them. So much history and heritage lost never to be seen again.
Thank you 😊
I spent many a happy hour in the Waterloo cinema, when I was supposed to be in school. It was great in the winter as it was nice and warm with a ready supply of drinks and snacks.
What a lovely memory; thanks for sharing 😊
When we bunked off school, or hopping the Charlie wag as we called it in the 1950's, we used to spend the afternoon in the Waterloo News Theatre. Our school was just a cross the road in Exton Street. St John's and all Saints...anybody remember it?
@@anthonypowell1457 Yeah, I'm sure there were more kids of school age than adults in there in the afternoons.😁
Teriffic video Rob. Very informative; I had no idea Victoria and Waterloo stations had cinemas in the past. As you mention in the video, strikingly stylish Art Deco architecture and yes, it is a pity they weren't kept and re-purposed.
Thank you sir 😊
Thanks Rob for another fascinating video! It’s such a shame these beautiful art deco buildings were swept away. I vaguely remember the Victoria one, and my father took me to the Piccadilly one, what was then showing cartoons.
Lovely comment Stejaski, thank you!
Fantastic video, I remember now seeing both of these (Waterloo only after closure), but had totally forgotten them.
Many thanks for the kind words Brian. Stay well
This was lovely. My Dad would have loved this.
That means a lot to me Terry, thank you.
I am so sad that those beautiful cinemas have gone. They were beautiful venues and would have done well today I think.
Would you consider making a film about the cartoon cinemas in 60’s London, they showed Warner brothers cartoons and my parents took me there a lot. Thanks for another great film.
Thank you so much Kerry. I’ll look into as I don’t know enough about them at the moment! Good idea for a video though. Thanks again and stay well.
Thanks for this very interesting video Rob. I remember visiting The Waterloo news cinema in the 1960s just for the experience. A friend and myself had gone to Waterloo to do a bit of engine spotting during the last days of steam. As well as the news I do remember watching a few cartoons. I was not aware of that there was similar cinema at Charing Cross. All part of London's vanished history.
What a lovely comment and memories John, thanks so much for sharing.
I can remember going to the one at Victoria Station on several Sundays during the late 1970’s with my Dad. Cartoons and the Flash Gordon serial were shown regularly
Brilliant ;-)
You were so spot on with your comments on a new lease of life, had they still been in situ. Its amazing to think how Cinema changed between the 50s and 2000s. In my old home town of Southend, there was 7 or 8 Cinemas all within a couple of minutes of each other in the heyday. Its now down to just 1 multi screen, but that only came about after there was a decline for cinemas in the late 80s and throught the 90s. Maybe because of DVD and Blue RAY and things like SKY and Virgin becoming more and more popular to have at home.
Its great to see the Cinema come back though. I love film, and as much as I do watch a lot at home, there are certain films you simply have to see on the big screen with great sound.
All the best to you.
Great comment John. I’m very fond of Southend, would often go there when I was a kid. Had no idea it had that many cinemas at one time though; incredible! Thanks again and stay well.
@@Robslondon oh wow. You don't sound that old on your narration.... I would love to meet you for a pint or two and chat about the history of Southend and London one day.
@@johnbacon1854 Ha ha! Thanks John… I’m only in my 40s 😉 A pint someday would suit me! Cheers and stay well.
As a young lad, I spent many an hour or so at the Waterloo 'News Theatre' watching cartoons.
TRIVIA: The fly on the wall film about Waterloo station 'Terminus' was directed by John Schlesinger, who went on to direct Hollywood films like Midnight Cowboy.
Cheers Rog, and yes- Schlesinger was a great director. Stay well.
great video, really enjoyed it, thanks
Thank you!
I've Didn't Know London Victoria And Waterloo Train Stations Did Have Cinemas. Now That's Awesome. Thanks Mate. X
It’s a pleasure Luke 😉 Thanks and stay well
Another well put together and informative video, love it !
Thank you!
Victoria was my local cinema as a kid, it was a weekly treat, in the mid to late 60s. We were dropped of there while our parents did the weekly shop in Warwick way. The news reels were pretty boring to a kid but the serials and cartoons were great. Was my first experience of cinema. Great to see images of the old building.
Thansk for sharing your memories :-) Stay well.
Well done, this is absolutely fascinating. My father used to take me to all three of these cinemas and I loved them because I could watch cartoons non-stop, apart from some clips of an orchestra from one of the big studios - probably MGM - playing pieces of classical music. I couldn't wait for the music to stop so that we could get back to the cartoons!
Thank you Robert; lovely comment and memories!
Just came across your channel this evening - subscribed and binge watching! Your videos are amazing!
Thank you so much Sean, that means a lot to me. It's great to have you here ;-) Stay well mate.
Top man Sean.
Thanks. Rob. Really really interesting
Thank you Grant
The amount of times I’ve been to Waterloo and I never knew about this at all. What beautiful Art Deco buildings - thanks for a very informative and interesting video as always ❤️
Thanks so much Louise; really appreciate your kind words. Stay well.
Just found your channel and subscribed. I love all things railway related and art deco cinemas too. I really enjoyed this video and learned something I that I had not known about to boot. Many thanks. 🙂
It's a pleasure; thank you so much for your support!
Nice piece of nostalgia. I saw The Glen Miller Story at Waterloo.
Thanks! Glad to bring some memories back 😉
I had no idea these existed. Another fascinating video, Cheers Rob!
You’re more than welcome Paul 😊 Thank you so much for watching; stay well.
What a wonderful video! Thank you! I come from Hornsey in North London and use to go to the Saturday morning cinema at The Odeon Muswell Hill N10, still survives and is a magnificent piece of architecture. As I got older I’d go to the cinema with my friends to that odeon, but also the ABC Cinema in Turnpike Lane N22 which no longer exists. There was also another ABC at the top of Muswell Hill, but sadly I don’t remember that architecture.
Brilliant comment, thank you!
Thank you so much for this video! I'm currently doing some research on Waterloo News Theatre and this has been really helpful. Lots of great photos. Would have been very cool to see these places whilst they still stood.
It’s a pleasure! Thanks for watching and hope your research goes well
I used to pester my parents as we went through Victoria in the late 60s, early 70s to see the cartoons.
Before video cassettes arrived, it was the only to see carttons, on demand, that I can remember.
My memory is they normally gave way, bless them.
Great comment and memories, thanks for sharing😊
as a child of the 60s i remember the news theatres also ran cartoons which were a highlight of my visit.to London
Cheers Ian.
On the Waterloo site they placed a moving advertising billboard which featured in an exciting scene in the film The Bourne Ultimatum. A sniper is up there and Jason Bourne is trying to stop him.
Great information on this channel and I only subscribed 2 days ago.
Thank you!
I'm old enough to have visited the news theatre at Victoria, when it was a news theatre! Very interesting, Rob, by the way!
Wow! Cheers Michael
Thanks Rob - another interesting and informative video. I remember the Victoria cartoon cinema but sadly never visited it. I was just a lad when it closed.
Thanks Colin, stay well.
I never knew about these - what a fascinating little film!
Many thanks! :-)
Brilliantly researched and presented!
Thank you!
Really interesting. I have watched a few of your videos. I spend time in London, and now can look with different eyes.
Thanks so much; that means a lot to me :-)
Thanks for another cracking vlog very interesting
A pleasure David; thank you.
I'm almost sure I was taken to the news theatre at Victoria when I was a very small girl. I know my father liked to go there while waiting for his train to Sussex. Mind you, I saw a fair few newsreels when I was young - they were a great feature of cinemas back in the day, when not everybody had a television.
Lovely comment Annabel, thanks for sharing your memories. Stay well.
Hi Robslondon, I remember seeing one of these cinemas, but not sure which one, but sadly I never went inside. Excellent video. Thank you.
Lovely comment, thank you 😊
Another very interesting video. These two picture houses as i called them did not jump out in my memory, in the latter days of active life most of my traveling was done by car. All the local cinemas to me when i was a child are all but closed apart from one, the Odeon Streatham High Road. all my visits to the Odeon were good apart from one !! we were marched from school to go and see Laurence Olivier in Richard 111 not a good film for ten year old boys "Nightmare"
ha ha! Cheers Butch 😉
A fascinating cinematographic journey back in time, Rob, with some great research and archive footage. You're right, these cinemas were no match for television, but it's pleasing to see Waterloo cinema's 'spiritual successor'. I spent my childhood down the line from Waterloo and clearly remember in the late 1950s asking my parents if we could go to the station's cinema to watch the cartoons; we didn't have TV. I was rewarded one day on our way home from London! I'm sure we can't have stayed longer than half an hour, as we had a train to catch! It was a memorable experience nonetheless, although I was probably too excited about seeing cartoon films than appreciating the Art Deco styling!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories Richard 😊 And thank you too for the kind words. Stay well sir.
Thanks Rob. No idea they existed. Very interesting.
Many thanks Doug. Stay well.
i lived very near waterloo and can remember the cinema and going to it in the late sixties. there was also a booth on the concourse where you could talk etc into a microphone and make a recording which would be imprinted on one of those flimsy plastic records which would play at 45rpm.
Brilliant memory, thanks for sharing.
Wow that railway arch theatre is amazing, 👍 great vid
Cheers Dave ;-)
Great video, so many memories.❤️
Thank you Elizabeth 😊
I well remember the Victoria Cinema from 1960/1 when I lived with my parents in Army Married Quarters at the back of Wellington Barracks. When I got under their feet, they would give me a Shilling entrance fee and I would take the short ten minute walk to watch the cartoons and the newsreels. I remember the auditorium used to be full of smoke which made swirling patterns through the flickering projector and the smell of stale urine which used to permeate the place. It was a real flea-pit back then but you could sit there all day and watch the show as many times as you liked. Happy days.
That's an incredible and very atmospheric memory. Thanks for sharing and stay well.
There was also a news cinema in Baker Street Tube Station, in the Chilton Court building above the station, with an entrance from the station booking hall.
That's incredible, I didn't know that was its location.... might have to do a new video!
As a young teenager i can remember getting a train from Bromley south to Victoria to watch cartoons at the News Theatre there. This would have been the early 60's I guess and I seem to remember it being a little run down, but it was a long time ago and I could be wrong about that.
Nice comment Sid, thanks for sharing.
Hi Rob, just catching up on your content. What fascinating buildings and a shame they have gone. It was great to see in the war period the YMCA had tea bars in there. All credit too for the brave firefighters who helped save St Paul's Cathedral. I think it was featured in a recent TV documentary about British air aids in WW2. I'm going to catch up on your London pubs series next. Cheers DougT in Mancs
Cheers Doug 😉
Last year I was at Leeds station. Walking along the ‘30s North Concourse re-opened a few years ago towards the exit onto Aire Street at the far end there is a large uplighter which looks like it might be at home on the London Underground. Near this, on the right hand side there is a stone set into the ground bearing the words ‘News Theatre’; I didn’t know there had been one there. I think the auditorium may have been within the hotel building. I’m told that one also existed at Grand Central Terminal in New York.
Thanks Stephen. Yes, when I was researching this I heard there was a cinema at Leeds station but couldn’t confirm it. It may have been the only one outside London, but don’t quote me on that! I believe they wanted to build ones in Manchester and Glasgow too, but they never went ahead. Thanks and stay well.
@@Robslondon
I have a photograph of the Leeds sign, but I can’t see any way to attach it here.
@@srfurley No worries Stephen, it’s a good excuse for me to get up to Yorkshire 😉 Stay well
I have fond memories of my dad taking me to the Saturday cartoon matinees at Victoria.
Lovely memory, Pando :-) Stay well.
Pearl and Dean adverts. ❤️
I remember the tiny cinema at Piccadilly Circus that showed the same sort of program, as the two cinemas your talking about, until the seventies. I always wanted to go into it, during the sixties when I was a kid, but even by then it probably wasn't a good place to go, because my parents wouldn't let me.
Thanks Julia, lovely comment ;-)
A very interesting video. I remember trips to London as a child in the late 50s and early 60s with my father always included at least one visit to a cartoon/news theatre, though not as I recall the Waterloo venue. After closing as a cinema it was turned into a small film studio by a company called Rockflicks, that made music videos. I worked there as a camera assistant on several of their productions in the 1980s.
Thanks andy- that’s a brilliant bit of info, I wasn’t aware of that. Cheers and stay well.
@@Robslondon I think that reply ( and the quality of your videos of course) deserves a subscribe.
@@andyoncam1 It's a pleasure; and thank you so much. Lovely to have you here! Thanks again and stay well.
Fantastic !!!
Thanks Richard!
I remember seeing the Waterloo one - and remembered correctly where it was - but as I suspected it was no longer in operation by this time (late 70s / early 80s). Surprised that the Victoria cinema persisted for so much longer.
Thanks Chris. Yes it’s amazing in hindsight how much longer Victoria’s kept going. Cheers and stay well.
I have a very, very dim memory of the Victoria cinema from the mid-1960s, when I would have been around six years old. We would have been on the long journey from North Wales to Switzerland by train and ferry and I guess we would have gone in there before catching the boat train to Folkestone. Can't remember what we saw, though it could have been some sort of newsreel. I think I was mildly surprised even at that age that a station would have a cinema in it; there was certainly nothing like that at Bangor or Holyhead...
Great memory to have Chris; thanks so much for sharing. Stay well.
Great video thanks
It’s a pleasure; thank you
I remember going to the victoria one in the 70s it was showing cartoons and 1930s flash gordon series i loved that place
Cheers David; what a fantastic memory to have 😊
Thank you so interesting did not know they had they at stations.
Thank you Christopher. Stay well.
I used to go to the Waterloo station cinema when I was a Young boy,it cost sixpence to go in on a Saturday morning that was in the early 1960s.
Nice memory! Thanks for sharing :-)
I used to go to the one at Baker Street every Saturday for years in the late 50s and early 60s
Well this yank didn't know anything about these theaters, of course they were before my time, but I found the video fascinating and very very interesting!
Thanks so much!
Hello as a small child in the late 50’s my dad use to take me on a train from battersea to Waterloo station and go to
The Waterloo cinema, I remember seeing some of the John Wayne B movies and I’m still a big fan of John Wayne movies
It is good but sad to know what happened to the cinema, as I got older I went with friends to the Granada in battersea for Saturday morning pictures,sadly that is no longer a cinema, we moved out of London in the late 60’s
Thank so much for sharing your lovely memories Kathryn; much appreciated. Stay well.
Never realised there were cinemas inside railway stations. Amazing!🙂
Yes, it's crazy isn't it! Such a shame they aren't there anymore.
@@Robslondon there was a certain charm during that era despite everything.💕
@@bronte6364 Very true.
Grand Central Terminal, in New York, had a small newsreel theater as late as the 1970’s.
That’s incredible Robert, thanks for the info. I’ve been to Grand Central (gorgeous place) but had no idea about that! Cheers.