The Hippodrome Update and History 1900 to 1951

30.11.11

The Hippodrome is progressing at a steady pace and it looks like they are restoring and enhancing some of the original features.
Today's feature includes present day photos along with some original pictures and illustrations.
This was once a magnifcient builiding with a long and esteemed history in the entertainment industry.

I hope they do restore the building to its former glory and it is succsefull again  


Hippodrome a Brief History

30.11.11

The London Hippodrome was built in 1900 by Frank Matcham for Edward Moss for £250,000 as a hippodrome for circus and variety performances. The venue gave its first Circus show on 15 January 1900.^[1] Entry to the venue was through a bar, dressed as a ship's saloon and the performance space featured both a proscenium stage and an arena that sank into a 230 ft, 100,000 gallon water tank (400 ton, when full) for aquatic spectacles. The tank featured eight central fountains, and a circle of fountains around the side. Entrances at the side of the auditorium could also be flooded, and used for the entry of boats.^[2] Shows included equestrian acts, elephants and polar bears, and acrobats would dive from a Minstrel Gallery above a sliding roof, in the centre of the proscenium arch. The auditorium featured cantilevered galleries, removing the columns that often obstructed views in London theatres, the whole was covered by a painted glass retractable roof, that could be illuminated at night.^[2] The building included the headquarters of Moss Empires.^[3]

Theatre 1909-1951

1930ish

In 1909, it was reconstructed by Matcham as a music-hall and variety theatre with 1340 seats in stalls, mezzanine, gallery, and upper gallery levels. It was here that Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake received its English première by the Ballets Russes in 1910. The Albert de Courville (1887–1960) revues were performed here from December 1912.
In 1919, the Hippodrome hosted the first official jazz gig in the United Kingdom, by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.^[4]

1907

Its reputation was for revue and musical comedy, among them The Five O'Clock Girl and also Mr. Cinders, both in 1929, Ivor Novello's Perchance to Dream in 1945 with Margaret Rutherford, and the revue High Spirits in 1953 with Cyril Ritchard and Diana Churchill. Julie Andrews made her stage debut here at the age of 12. From 1949 to 1951 it was the London equivalent of the Folies Bergères.