London Pavilion

The London Pavilion stands at the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street, on the north-east side of Piccadilly Circus in Westminster. It was once part of the larger Trocadero Centre. The first building with this name opened in 1859 as a music hall, created by covering the yard of the Black Horse Inn. A gallery was added, though it could not span the full width because part of the site housed Dr Kahn’s ‘Delectable Museum of Anatomy’. In 1885, Shaftesbury Avenue cut through the site, prompting the construction of a new theatre. This 1885 theatre became the first ‘music hall deluxe’, with marble-topped tables in the auditorium and electric lights illuminating its foyers. The theatre’s success led to the formation of Syndicate Halls Ltd, the first combine of music halls. Lupino Lane made his London début here in 1903. Between 1912 and 1936, the venue hosted regular programmes of musicals, including Noël Coward’s first success, *On With the Dance*, in 1925. Performers such as Sir Harry Lauder and Clifton Webb appeared on its stage. In 1934, the building was converted into a cinema, designed by F. G. M. Chancellor. It premiered films like *The Private Life of Don Juan* and *The Curse of Frankenstein*, and hosted the premières of *Dr. No* and *A Hard Day’s Night*. The building later became a shopping arcade, preserving only its 1885 façade. A waxworks exhibition called Rock Circus opened in 1986, followed by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in 2008. Body Worlds London displayed over 200 preserved human bodies from 2018. The upper levels now house a Capsule hotel with nearly 1,000 sleeping capsules, accessed from Great Windmill Street. The basement links to Piccadilly Circus tube station and the Trocadero Centre.