Some snaps from my wander around central London yesterday:
Street artist in Leicester Square.
The half-demolished 1962 Swiss Centre in Leicester Square. The building was originally designed to provide a showcase for Switzerland and hosted a Swiss bank and the Swiss National Tourist Board.
The original Empire Theatre opened with a production of ‘Chilperic’ which was a ‘Grand Musical Spectacular’ by Florimund Herve in 1884.
Just three years later it had been become ‘The Empire Theatre of Varieties,’ reverting back to The Empire Theatre in 1898 before finally closing and being demolished in January 1927.
The second Empire Theatre opened as a cinema in November 1928, although it still put on occasional ballet and dancing shows before closing in May 1961 after a 76 week run of ‘Ben Hur.’
After a major reconstruction, the third incarnation of the Empire Theatre opened in December 1962, and now hosts a cinema and casino.
The 20 feet tall tower of the art deco Odeon Leicester Square, once the ‘flagship’ cinema of Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Theatres Ltd.
Built on the site of the Alhambra Theatre (1883-1936), the Odeon opened for business on 2nd November 1937, offering 2,116 seats – and all of them covered in mock leopard-skin!
Trafalgar Square at night.
Related posts:
Tonight: your last chance to see choirs sing traditional Christmas carols in Trafalgar Square, London
Mini rave in Trafalgar Square!
A skeletal horse with a live stock market feed takes over Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth
In photos: London Christmas lights and markets – Regent Street, Leicester Square, Carnaby Street and Trafalgar Square
St George’s Day festival, Trafalgar Square, London
The plinth, the artist and contortionist, Trafalgar Square, May 2011
London’s worst street performers do their stuff in Trafalgar Square
Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph recreated in London’s Trafalgar Square
