Coventry Theatre
(1937-2002)
place and theatre (1937-1985)
Closed aged c. 65
Wikidata WikipediaThe Coventry Theatre was a 2,000-seat theatre located on Hales Street in Coventry, England. It opened in 1937 as the New Hippodrome and was renamed the Coventry Theatre in 1955. In 1979 it was purchased by businessman Paul Gregg and became the Coventry Apollo. It closed in 1985 with a performance by Barbara Dickson. In its later years the building became a bingo club before being demolished in 2002. Alan Melville's comedy Castle in the Air premiered at the theatre in 1949 before transferring to the West End.
DbPedia
Commemorated on 1 plaque
The Coventry Theatre The New Hippodrome, as it was originally named, was opened on 1 November 1937. It was the third Hippodrome on this site, the first situated in Pool Meadow (1903) and the second (1907) built in what is now the lower part of Lady Herbert's Garden. The New Hippodrome, re-named the Coventry Theatre in 1955, provided the venue for some of the world's greatest artistes and productions. The auditorium was comfortable and impressive in size, seating 2136. The arrival of television in the 1950s and '60s caused a drastic decline in the popularity of variety theatre. In 1985 the theatre became a bingo hall and operated as such until it was demolished in 2002 to make way for Millennium Place, the Whittle Arch and the new frontage to Coventry Transport Museum.
Millennium Place - near Hales Street, Coventry, United Kingdom where it opened (1937), became a bingo hall (1985), and demolished (2002)