Safari Cinema

Safari Cinema, previously Savoy (1936-1958), ABC Croydon (1958-1986) and Cannon (1986-late 1990s), was at 225 London Road in Broad Green, Croydon.

History

Opened on March 9, 1936, by Associated British Cinemas, it was designed by William R. Glen and seated 2,300. It was a fair distance from the town centre. Lighting in the large spacious auditorium was entirely indirect, mainly from troughs on the ceiling.

On March 31, 1953, an electrical fault resulted in a fire that totally destroyed the auditorium. Post-war building restrictions were still in force and it reopened with a utilitarian appearance on December 27, 1953. In July 1958 it closed to allow a more extensive reconstruction to take place. When it reopened as the ABC on October 19, it had 2,118 seats and was lavishly appointed.

Tripling caused the next closure, from May to November 1972. The rear circle became 650-seat screen 1, with the stalls split into screen 2 (390 seats) and 3 (187 seats). All had bland unadorned decor. Renamed Cannon in 1986 and Safari in the late 1990s, it closed in 2004 and was demolished in March/April 2005.

Closure

It closed primarily because of opening of a Warner Village cinema (now Vue) in the Grants entertainment venue. Safari had been known as a Bollywood cinema, showing many Bollywood films as well as Hollywood blockbusters. After the closure Warner Village reserved one screen for Bollywood films^[1]

The decision to demolish the cinema did not proceed without controversy, with local residents and patrons of the cinema remarking that the cinema "is the last of the historic cinemas from the Golden Age left in Croydon."^[2]

Land Usage

Developers planned to demolish the building and replace it with 138 apartments, including 52 key worker shared-ownership flats. The plan was dependent on the issuance of planning permission. This was duly granted and in September 2007 development was underway. Overstrand Ltd are the owners of the site, with Ian Hutchinson as the developer.

Subsequently, the developers applied to Croydon Council for permission to construct 47 additional apartments on the site of the derelict Total/Elf/Fina petrol station, also on London Road.

References

Coordinates: 51°22′57″N 0°6′27″W / 51.38250°N 0.10750°W / 51.38250; -0.10750

Buildings and structures in Croydon

Highrises	100 George Street Altitude 25 Apollo House Central One Cherry Orchard Road Towers Croydon Tower Croydon transmitting station Croydon Vocational Tower Direct Line House ISLAND Leon House Lunar House Nestlé Tower No. 1 Croydon Prudential House Ruskin Square Saffron Square Taberner House Wettern House

Notable lowrises	Addington Palace Airport House Ashcroft Theatre Bridge House BRIT School Christ Church, Croydon Croydon College Croydon Clocktower (David Lean Cinema Museum of Croydon Croydon Central Library) Cane Hill Old Palace Croydon Minster Fairfield Halls Grants John Ruskin College Croydon University Hospital RAF Kenley Ruskin House Safari Cinema St Andrew's, Croydon St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood St Michael and All Angels, Croydon St Peter's, Croydon The Exchange Trinity School of John Whitgift Warehouse Theatre

Major railway stations	East Croydon Norwood Junction Purley West Croydon

Major complexes	Allders Ashburton Learning Village Centrale Colonnades Leisure Park Grants Park Place Purley Way St George's Walk Valley Park Retail Area Whitgift Centre

Sports venues	Croydon Arena Croydon Sports Arena Croydon Water Palace Selhurst Park

Architecture of Croydon Croydon Vision 2020 List of tallest buildings and structures in Croydon

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