The Shepherd's Bush Pavilion is a Grade II listed building, currently a hotel, formerly a cinema and bingo hall, in Shepherd's Bush, London. Built in 1923 as a cinema, it was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944. In 1955 it was restored and re-opened, but it changed ownership a number of times, and eventually in 1983 became a bingo hall. The Pavilion closed its doors for good in 2001, and remained empty and disused for much of the next decade. In 2009 planning permission was granted for conversion into a luxury hotel. Demolition work began in 2012, with only a part of the building's façade retained. The re-built hotel, the Dorsett Shepherd's Bush, London, opened in 2014.
History
Origins
The Pavilion was originally built as a cinema, designed by Frank Verity for Israel Davis. It opened in August 1923, when it won the RIBA London Street Architecture Award for the best London facade. The panel noted the "imposing structure of brick and stone in which the former material especially is used with great imagination". From the beginning the project was very ambitious – the films were accompanied not by a mere piano but by the Pavilion Symphony Orchestra, and a sophisticated lighting system created colour effects during the films – such as blue lights for rain, or red for fire. The interior was classical in style, using 3 shades of copper, and seated 2,000 spectators. It had no less than 2 miles of carpet and solid silver lamps for lighting, and was awarded a Bronze Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
WW2
Much of the sumptuous interior work would be lost when the building was badly damaged by a flying bomb in 1944, towards the end of World War II, and the original interior was destroyed.
After the war The Pavilion was repaired, and reopened in 1955 as the Gaumont Theatre. It was then closed again in 1969 for further refurbishment, when a new floor was installed, dividing the large open space into two levels – a cinema upstairs and a Bingo Club below. In 1974 the Pavilion acquired a new status as a Grade II listed building although, given the war damage and subsequent alterations, little remained of the original interior design or layout. In 1983 the cinema closed for the last time, leaving the bingo hall open for a while longer. However, in 2001 even the bingo hall closed, and the building fell into disuse.
Redevelopment as a hotel
In both 2004 and 2006 planning permission was given for conversion into a hotel, but investors withdrew from the project owing to the difficulty of converting the building, in particular the relatively small number of rooms, few of which would have enjoyed any natural daylight or views. The building was left unoccupied and in disrepair for several years, prompting English Heritage to add it to its 'Building at Risk' register. In 2009 planning permission was granted to convert the empty building into the 4 star Shepherds BushPavilion Hotel, designed by architects Flanagan Lawrence. At the end of February 2012 it was reported that the £25 million conversion of the derelict building would begin in March 2012. In the summer of 2012 the building was largely demolished, retaining only the original facade. When completed the hotel would have 11 floors, and the existing curved roof would be replaced by a glass roof. In September 2012 a planning variation was requested by the developers, to change the proposed development from a 242-room hotel to one with 322 smaller rooms. The proposed variation was opposed by local residents who feared that the fundamental character of the new building would be quite different from what was originally proposed. The new hotel is to run by the Asia-based hotel group Dorsett Hospitality International, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It opened in June, 2014.
