St. James'
Theatre & Exhibition Hall
Oxford Street has long
been connected with entertainment. In the 1800s
the Princes Theatre and the Hippodrome sat on one side
and the St. James Theatre and the Palace across the
way. The St. James Theatre and Exhibition Hall,
seen above, dominated the street with its tall clock
tower.
When "moving pictures" made an appearance, the St. James Hall became an important venue for showing them to large and enthusiastic audiences.
When "moving pictures" made an appearance, the St. James Hall became an important venue for showing them to large and enthusiastic audiences.
The Arthur Lloyd Theatre
and Music Hall site states that the St. James's Theatre
and Exhibition Hall was built in 1884. The drawing
above shows the configuration of the building in
1888. The theatre closed in 1907 but reopened as a
cinema in 1908.
The theatre must have
been demolished not long after its reopening because
in 1912 work began on an even more imposing building
which now occupies this site. The St. James
Building, designed by Clegg, Fryer and Penman, was
built for the Calico Printers Association.
