Editing the Venue Troxy

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Venue Description
Troxy is a Grade II-listed Art Deco music venue on Commercial Road in Stepney, London. Built as a cinema in 1933, it has been converted for modern use and hosts music concerts, immersive cinema events, award ceremonies, conferences, product launches, indoor sport, film screenings, parties and weddings. It is considered a vital part of East London's history and was made a Grade II listed building in 1990. It has a capacity of 3,100. History Opened in 1933 on the site of an old brewery, Troxy cost £250,000 to build and when it first showed films had a capacity of 3,520, making it the largest cinema in England at that time. Going to see a film at Troxy was an incredible experience. Inside the building the cinema had luxurious seating, a revolving stage, mirror-lined restaurants and customers were served by staff wearing evening dress. To add to the sense of luxury, Troxy staff even sprayed perfume during film showings. The cinema showed all the latest big releases and had a very special feature: a floodlit organ which rose from the orchestra pit during the interval, playing popular tunes. Troxy was designed by George Coles, the architect of many art deco cinemas in London. The first film shown at the cinema was King Kong, which is now celebrated by graffiti on the side of the building. Big names from the film and music industry were regular sights at Troxy, with stars such as The Andrews Sisters, Gracie Fields, Petula Clark, Cliff Richard and even Clark Gable visiting it. The damage inflicted on the East End of London by the Blitz in World War Two and the clearance of local slums robbed Troxy of much of its original audience as the giant cinema closed in 1960, with the last film shown on 19 November that year, featuring Donald Sinden in "The Siege of Sidney Street". Between 1960 and 1963 Troxy stood empty until the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, took over and created the London Opera Centre former school for the training of opera singers and professionals, was based there from 1963 to 1977. Its purpose was to be used as a rehearsal space, using an extended stage to create exactly the same dimensions as the Royal Opera House stage. The team made changes to the internal and basement areas of Troxy, creating multiple rooms for the orchestras to use as well as the stage. The Royal Opera House continued to use Troxy until 1990. The following year the building earned Grade II Listed status with English Heritage. In the 1980s Mecca Bingo took over the venue and bingo sessions were held twice a day, seven days a week until 2005 when the rise of online gambling led to Mecca taking the decision to stop using the building.