The area also played a pivotal role in the genesis of British film making, a combination of Television and homes that people didn’t mind spending time in brought all this to an end. Only one of these cinemas still shows films, the majority were demolished but some of the buildings still survive.
Most people think of the Seven Sisters and Holloway Roads as two nondescript traffic choked roads with nothing to detain them on their way in and out of town. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the area was an entertainment and shopping mecca, the roads were thronged with shoppers, street traders and thrill seekers.
At first it was Music Halls which gave way to picture palaces, Then came the rise of the super cinemas holding 3000 plus people and incorporating music hall style acts to precede the films, they were also used for concerts and the Music Halls eventually were turned into cinemas too.
At one time the route of this walk could accommodate 13000 cinema patrons at a time, almost unbelievable today, modern day Leicester Square’s cinemas have nowhere near that amount of seats.
–
Hazel Baker is a qualified CIGA Tour Guide who delivers guided walks and private tours in London. View all of Hazel’s walking tours.
