SAVE Walking Tour of London's West End Cinemas

Join us for a SAVE walking tour of London's West End Cinemas led by cinema historian and writer Richard Gray.

The West End of London once had some of the most spectacular cinemas in the world. Many were built by the big Hollywood studios as showcases for their films but there were also others run by British film companies and exhibitors.

We will start the tour at the recently renovated Grade II listed Regent Street Cinema, the site of the first successful commercial screenings for the Lumière brothers in February 1896.

The route will also take in a current SAVE campaign, the 1927 Empire Cinema (formerly the Carlton), in the Haymarket, built by Paramount Pictures and retaining much of its original Italianate decoration. The walk will continue to what is still the hub of film exhibition in this country, Leicester Square, where three out of the six cinemas which once surrounded the Square survive.

Richard Gray, formerly of English Heritage, and author of Cinemas in Britain (Lund Humphries). He is also Chair of Casework for the Cinema Theatre Association and currently writing Lost Cinemas for Historic England publishing.

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Date: Saturday 6th October

Start: The Regents Street Cinema Foyer, 1pm

End: Leicester Square Station, 4pm

Tickets: £12 Friends and Saviours, £16 members of the public (both plus Eventbrite booking fee)

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To book your ticket click here.

Places are strictly limited. If you are unable to book a ticket please call the office on 020 7253 3500 to join the waiting list