History
The Odeon Cinema in Harlow, was designed by T. P. Bennett & Son and constructed in 1959. It opened on 1st February 1960 causing it to become the first cinema to be built for the Rank Organisation (a British entertainment conglomerate) after the Second World War. The cinema originally had 1,244 seats with one screen and included a raised seating section to the rear, as supposed to a common overhanging balcony. The projection room is positioned above the raised section of seating and is close to level with the large screen.
In 1987 the cinema closed for refurbishment. The original raised sections of the main screen were converted into two separate screens resulting in a total of three screens allowing the cinema to increase capacity. No further work was carried out on the cinema until 2001, when the venue was rebranded to follow the new Odeon style. Only small design changes were made throughout the cinema. Despite growing competition in and around the local area, as larger modern multiplex screens were opened, the Odeon in Harlow managed to survive until August 2005. However these other cinemas eventually resulted in a rapidly declining number of visitors to the venue, forcing it to close due it it no longer being economically viable to run. Although it was purchased almost immediately after closure, the premises has remained abandoned since the year it closed. Further details of the current owner are explained within the featured video.
