The Visualisation Lab at King’s College London plan to create a “unique, interactive, virtual reality, Cinema History database”
The objective of this first phase was to reconstruct the Kingstanding Odeon, Birmingham, whose 1935 opening represents a key moment in the evolution of purpose-built cinemas
Via Tom Lennon
The Odeon Cinemas were pioneered from Birmingham by Oscar Deutsch, a Balsall Heath born film entrepreneur, whose first film company was with film producer Michael Balcon (also from Birmingham). The Birmingham architects firm, Harry Weedon Partnership (still going strong, designed in their characteristic art deco look all the 1930’s Odeon Cinemas, that dotted the UK landscape. Even the distinctive lettering on the ODEON sign was designed by the Birmingham company Pearce Signs. Although of Classical linguistic roots, the word ODEON acronymically stood in the 1930’s for ‘Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation.’