Paris Pullman Cinema

You are standing near the site of the former Paris Pullman Cinema on Drayton Gardens. Long before it became a destination for cinephiles, this building began its life in 1911 as the Radium Picture Playhouse, a space converted from a local gymnasium. It later reinvented itself in 1947 as the Bolton's Theatre Club, a private venue where daring plays bypassed the strict eyes of government censors by requiring a formal membership for all attendees. In 1955, the site underwent a major transformation and reopened as the Paris Pullman Cinema, characterized by a striking lemon-yellow exterior lit by a series of glowing bulbs. It quickly became the premier London home for international arthouse cinema, championing the works of avant-garde and foreign directors who were rarely seen elsewhere in the city at the time. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it served as a bohemian sanctuary for Chelsea locals, offering a steady diet of films from masters like Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, and Werner Herzog. The cinema was known for its deep connection to the intellectual and artistic currents of its day, even hosting high-profile premieres that attracted London's counter-culture figures. By the time it closed its doors in 1983, it had cemented its reputation as a vital cultural landmark, ending its run with a screening of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Veronika Voss. Shortly after the final credits rolled, the distinctive yellow building was demolished to make way for modern residential apartments, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most significant hubs for independent film in twentieth-century London.