51°35′24″N 0°08′44″W / 51.589882°N 0.145546°W
The Athenaeum was a multipurpose venue standing on Fortis Green Road in London's Muswell Hill. Among other functions, its spaces were variously used as a music hall, conference rooms and a cinema.[1]
History
editConstruction of the Athenaeum was completed in 1900 during the development of Muswell Hill by James Edmondson which had begun in 1897.[2][3]
In 1918 the main hall opened as a cinema with a screening of the silent film The Conqueror. The leasing faced resistance due to the loss of the hall as community space.[clarification needed] In 1930 the cinema was modernised to allow for sound films.
In 1936 an Odeon cinema opened across the road from the Athenaeum; unable to deal with such competition, the Athenaeum's cinema was closed and turned into a Palais de Danse the following year. It continued being used in such a capacity, as well as for other social functions and community events, until 1966 when the building was demolished to make way for a Sainsbury's with a block of flats above. The name remains only in the nearby street Athenaeum Place.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 Deirdre (2020-07-01). "The Athenaeum, Muswell Hill". Hornsey Historical Society. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
- ↑ Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus, eds. (2002), London. 4: North / by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner (1. publ. by Yale Univ. Press ed.), New Haven London: Yale Univ. Press, p. 566, ISBN 978-0-300-09653-8
- ↑ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher, eds. (1995). The London encyclopaedia (Rev. ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 531. ISBN 978-0-333-57688-5.