The remarkable history of Broadway Cinema
Broadway Cinema was the third picture house to be built in Letchworth Garden City. With the number of independent cinemas diminishing over the years, Broadway Cinema has not only survived, but grown from a single screen to a four screen cinema, showing the latest blockbusters every week.
Designed by Bennett and Bidwell in an Art-Deco style, Broadway Cinema was built in 1936 by Howard Hurst with over 350,000 bricks!
Opening night
On 16 August 1936, the cinema opened to a black-tie gala screening of ‘Follow the Fleet’ starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. The auditorium, with its sumptuous interiors, reached its 1,400 capacity leaving many more turned away at the door.
Broadway Cinema has served many purposes over the years. It has been a wartime evacuee reception centre, church and concert hall.
Did you know?
At the time Broadway Cinema opened, adults in Britain were attending the cinema an average of 30 times a year!
More screens
Since its opening, Broadway Cinema has undergone three major refurbishments, the first in 1955, allowing the cinema to show ‘new’ widescreen films.
In 1996, the owners of the cinema, Letchworth Palace Ltd joined forces with Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to form Broadway Cinema Ltd. The new company invested £2m to convert the single screen auditorium into a three-screen attraction.
In 2008, the Heritage Foundation acquired Letchworth Palace Ltd’s interest in the cinema and invested a further £945,000 in refurbishment including the addition of a fourth screen!
For more on Cinema in Letchworth Garden City including a feature presentation by Heritage Museum Curator, Josh Tidy, visit the museum's website.
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