Tyneside Committee
After the de-listing of the Odeon what next!
by John Matthews
The Odeon in it's present state
It is with some sadness that we have to report that our long running campaign to save the former Odeon cinema in Pilgrim Street has now come to an unsatisfactory end. Brookfield, the current owners of the East Pilgrim Street development site invited Geoffrey Purves and John Matthews. along with John Burns of Mackellar Architects to have a look at the interior on Tuesday 25th of May. The building has been stripped of anything of value, and more importantly the specific fixtures and fittings, which were so crucial in English Heritage’s original listing decision in 2000. We believe that Cinven, the owners at the time, who along with the Rank Organisation successfully appealed to the DCMS controversially to de-list the former Grade II listed Odeon, took the opportunity at that time to ensure that nothing remained worth listing. We understand from Brookfield that they do have some items “in storage” but as yet they haven’t indicated what they themselves have removed or indeed the condition of the interior when they took possession. The elegant and elaborately worked ornamental balustrades manufactured by local architectural metalworkers, M. Aynsley and Company of Heber Street, which many members will remember leading up to the foyers from the main Pilgrim Street entrance have been ripped out leaving gaping holes in the concrete stairs. Shadows on the walls are all that remain of the decorative lighting sconces and other original fittings.
The Odeon as it looked in 1931
Geoffrey and John visited the former screen 2 and 3 on the ground floor, now with their separating wall removed, (probably because of the asbestos insulation used in the 70’s conversion) and now returned back to a single space as it was when first opened, then upstairs to screen 1, the largest which still could seat over 1000 patrons at the time of closure in 2002. Some of the original ornate metal side cheeks, which graced the row ends, were stacked awaiting removal along with other remnants of the auditorium seating. The highly ornate decorative fixtures above the lighting columns, which were also original fittings when the cinema was opened in 1931 by Paramount, have all been removed. The last part of the tour was at the top of the building in the projection room where, apart from some electrical control units, nothing remains.
It seems that anything which could be taken has been taken, which, of course, as owners of the building at the time Cinven were perfectly entitled to do. However the fact that the Society had submitted a document to the DCMS providing additional information to substantiate our request for them to return the Odeon’s Grade II listed status and it was therefore still “under consideration,” we still feel it was a cynical act of wanton destruction by the owners. It took the DCMS seven years to respond to this report despite numerous letters and telephone calls from the Society as each time we were told “no decision has yet been made”.
The Society believes that the DCMS’s record in this sad affair has been lamentable and wish to see the new Government resurrect the proposed Heritage Bill (quietly dropped by the Labour Government a year or so ago) which would remove the DCMS (and its transient Ministers) from the equation and allow English Heritage to be the final arbiter in listing and delisting decisions. We are well aware that the Minister at the DCMS at the time was heavily lobbied by the previous owners Rank and venture capitalists Cinven (the new owners of the Odeon and ABC cinema and theatre estates), and rather than accepting two separate reports from English Heritage recommending the Odeon’s protection and Grade II listing, she preferred to accept a professionally commissioned report from the owners on appeal. Cinven went on to sell off the Odeon/ABC to other cinema chains, but sold the most valuable sites on to developers (including the Newcastle site), which is why they lobbied strongly to get listed status removed.
The Society’s concern is that if this can happen to the Odeon, which at the time, considering its age, was remarkably intact and certainly worthy of listing, other buildings are therefore potentially at risk. As owners (and councils) see no commercial advantage in retention, other buildings, which currently have listed building protection, could be at risk if they stand in the way of new development. They could have their listed status challenged and subsequently removed in the same way as the Odeon on appeal to the DCMS. In this way we could lose other important fine examples of art décor 20th century architecture on the Pilgrim Street site; Carliol House and the Magistrates Court, a group of buildings which including the Odeon are arguably as important historically to the architectural heritage of Newcastle as the much valued Grainger Town.
To end on a more positive note, Brookfield have provisionally agreed an offer of financial support to capture all of the available information, be it photographic, written or spoken memories relating to the Paramount/Odeon over it’s 80 year lifespan; and to assist in the creation of an exhibition somewhere in the city, possibly leading to finding a permanent home for any memorabilia we can obtain from former employees and members of the public. We are certainly in agreement with Brookfield that IF the building must be lost to future generations, its sad demise MUST be recorded in a professional and complete manner. We have lost too many buildings in the past without proper studies being carried out. It is the least this fine historic building deserves. The Northumberland and Newcastle Society have offered our assistance in this initiative.
City and County
August 2010
