OUR STORY
Genesis Cinema, located on Mile End Road in East London, has had many names and seen many faces. With heritage dating back to 1848, there sure is a lot of history in this building!
1848. 95 MILE END ROAD.
The first building on the Genesis site opens. This is the Eagle Public House, which had a large open space for Music Hall entertainments. It’s thought to have been managed by Wilton Friend.
1868. LUSBY’S.
William Lusby buys the site, with Friend staying on as manager, opening it as Lusby’s Music Hall and Temple of Varieties. It’s a popular entertainment venue with many playbills attributed to it. On Easter Monday in 1877, it re-opens as Lusby’s Summer and Winter Palace. A grand space, fitting 5000 guests, it’s the first of its kind to have an outdoor garden; five folding doors open up onto a promenade, perfect for summertime.
William Lusby buys the site, with Friend staying on as manager, opening it as Lusby’s Music Hall and Temple of Varieties. It’s a popular entertainment venue with many playbills attributed to it. On Easter Monday in 1877, it re-opens as Lusby’s Summer and Winter Palace. A grand space, fitting 5000 guests, it’s the first of its kind to have an outdoor garden; five folding doors open up onto a promenade, perfect for summertime.
1878. NEW OWNERS.
Lusby sells the venue to Charles Spencer Crowder and George Adney Payne for £25,000 (today’s equivalent of £3m). They kept the name, extended the gardens and a year later it was proclaimed to be the ‘Largest, Coolest and best Ventilated Hall in London’!
Lusby sells the venue to Charles Spencer Crowder and George Adney Payne for £25,000 (today’s equivalent of £3m). They kept the name, extended the gardens and a year later it was proclaimed to be the ‘Largest, Coolest and best Ventilated Hall in London’!
1884. FIRE.
The venue burns down in January. Crowder and Payne hire Frank Matcham, the same architect who would subsequently design the London Hippodrome, the Hackney Empire, the Palladium and the Victoria Palace, to draft their theatre. It was unique because it was one of the first theatre spaces to be built under the new Building Act (put in place because of the number of theatres destroyed by fire) and for its emphasis on ventilation.
The venue burns down in January. Crowder and Payne hire Frank Matcham, the same architect who would subsequently design the London Hippodrome, the Hackney Empire, the Palladium and the Victoria Palace, to draft their theatre. It was unique because it was one of the first theatre spaces to be built under the new Building Act (put in place because of the number of theatres destroyed by fire) and for its emphasis on ventilation.
1885. PARAGON.
In May, the Paragon Theatre of Varieties opens! It is praised for its achievements in audience comfort and for being one of the very finest places of amusement. It plays host to stars of the era like Charlie Chaplin, Little Tich, Gertie Gitana and Stan Laurel.
In May, the Paragon Theatre of Varieties opens! It is praised for its achievements in audience comfort and for being one of the very finest places of amusement. It plays host to stars of the era like Charlie Chaplin, Little Tich, Gertie Gitana and Stan Laurel.
Paragon Theatre
Early 20th Century image of Paragon theatre
Early 20th Century image of Paragon theatre
1912. CINEMA.
As the years pass and the venue changes hands (and names) many times, the theatre begins showing cinema and reduced its variety acts. In 1938 the owners, ABC, demolished the venue and rebuilt. It had a small stage and two dressing rooms just in case of a performance, but film filled the majority of its programme: The Empire cinema was open.
As the years pass and the venue changes hands (and names) many times, the theatre begins showing cinema and reduced its variety acts. In 1938 the owners, ABC, demolished the venue and rebuilt. It had a small stage and two dressing rooms just in case of a performance, but film filled the majority of its programme: The Empire cinema was open.
Empire Cinema
Exterior of the Empire Cinema in 1937
Exterior of the Empire Cinema in 1937
This is an ABC Theatre
Patricia Morrison in Persons in Hiding in 1939
Patricia Morrison in Persons in Hiding in 1939
1963. ROYAL PREMIERE.
Theatre director Joan Littlewood had a Royal Premiere of her debut film SPARROWS CAN'T SING at ABC Mile End. It starred East End fave Barbara Windsor. This first ever East End premiere was in aid of the Docklands Settlements, of which Princess Margaret was president. Princess Margaret didn’t attend, reportedly due to flu, but rumours suggest that it was instead because of the assumed danger of the notorious gangsters The Kray Twins’ attendance. Her husband Lord Snowdon went as her replacement. As for the after party, well, Windsor remembers ‘Stanley Baker and Roger Moore stayed for dinner (pie and mash). Then we had a drink at the Krays’ club, the Kentucky, across the road from the cinema. We all ended up at Esmeralda’s, Ronnie and Reggie’s West End club. It was great.’
Theatre director Joan Littlewood had a Royal Premiere of her debut film SPARROWS CAN'T SING at ABC Mile End. It starred East End fave Barbara Windsor. This first ever East End premiere was in aid of the Docklands Settlements, of which Princess Margaret was president. Princess Margaret didn’t attend, reportedly due to flu, but rumours suggest that it was instead because of the assumed danger of the notorious gangsters The Kray Twins’ attendance. Her husband Lord Snowdon went as her replacement. As for the after party, well, Windsor remembers ‘Stanley Baker and Roger Moore stayed for dinner (pie and mash). Then we had a drink at the Krays’ club, the Kentucky, across the road from the cinema. We all ended up at Esmeralda’s, Ronnie and Reggie’s West End club. It was great.’
ABC Cinema
April 1963 screening of The Punch and Judy Man
April 1963 screening of The Punch and Judy Man
Screen 1
The theatre space that is now Screen 1
Screen 1
The seating layout in the 70's for what is now Screen 1
Film Projection
The Projection Room showing two platters and their retrospectivre projectors
ABC Cinema
October 1972 Screening of The Godfather at the ABC
Cert 'X'
The foyer and kiosk in 1973
Balcony Views
Screen 1 in the 70's
ABC Cinema
Exterior circa 1984 showing Footloose, The Lady and the Tramp and the Golden Seal
Coronet Cinema
1984 showing of Crocodile Dundee, Raw Deal and the Golden Child
There Is No End....
Interior of the Coronet. The exit sign reads: There is NO END to the GREAT MOVIES coming to MILE END
C _ O S E D
Closed Coronet Cinema in 1990
La Grande Salle
The derelict Coronet in the 90's
Main Entrance
The empty enterance in the 90's
1998. A NEW BEGINNING.
After re-construction, re-cladding and re-naming, the cinema closed in 1988. It stood empty for a decade, left to be vandalised. That is, until local electrician and film lover, Tyrone Walker-Hebborn saw the cinema and fell in love - despite the hole in the roof in Screen 1. Conveniently, he was working at his family roofing business so if anything it added to the charm! It turns out his parents had courted at the cinema in the 60s, so it was meant to be.
After re-construction, re-cladding and re-naming, the cinema closed in 1988. It stood empty for a decade, left to be vandalised. That is, until local electrician and film lover, Tyrone Walker-Hebborn saw the cinema and fell in love - despite the hole in the roof in Screen 1. Conveniently, he was working at his family roofing business so if anything it added to the charm! It turns out his parents had courted at the cinema in the 60s, so it was meant to be.
1999. GENESIS CINEMA.
‘What exactly is Genesis? Well, put simply, Genesis is life from lifelessness.’ In case you don’t know it, that’s a quote from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Why? Well simply, Tyrone is a massive Trekkie! The cinema opens with great fanfare, including special guest Barbara Windsor, who was last at the cinema for the Royal Premiere of her film Sparrows Can't Sing.
‘What exactly is Genesis? Well, put simply, Genesis is life from lifelessness.’ In case you don’t know it, that’s a quote from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Why? Well simply, Tyrone is a massive Trekkie! The cinema opens with great fanfare, including special guest Barbara Windsor, who was last at the cinema for the Royal Premiere of her film Sparrows Can't Sing.
1999 Reopening
Barbara Windsor celebrates with Tyrone (right) and his father Robert (left) on opening night
2000. THE EAST END FILM FESTIVAL.
After being presented with a host of short films and nowhere to watch them, Tyrone took this as an opportunity to start a short film night at Genesis. Together with the support of Sarah Wren from Tower Hamlets Film Office and John Tobin from the Raindance Film Festival, the Genesis short film night morphed into the East London Film Festival, with Tyrone, Wren and Tobin as its founders. The Festival found its feet at Genesis, eventually becoming one of the biggest film festivals in the UK and the naughty alternative to the London Film Festival. In 2020 it closed its operations, after 20 years of celebrating bold cinematic voices.
After being presented with a host of short films and nowhere to watch them, Tyrone took this as an opportunity to start a short film night at Genesis. Together with the support of Sarah Wren from Tower Hamlets Film Office and John Tobin from the Raindance Film Festival, the Genesis short film night morphed into the East London Film Festival, with Tyrone, Wren and Tobin as its founders. The Festival found its feet at Genesis, eventually becoming one of the biggest film festivals in the UK and the naughty alternative to the London Film Festival. In 2020 it closed its operations, after 20 years of celebrating bold cinematic voices.
2001 Genesis Exterior
The nineties were alive and well in our origional exterior
00's by Night
Evening at Genesis in the early years
2011. THE STUDIO EXPERIENCE.
Wanting to create a more luxurious Genesis experience, Tyrone and his dad ripped out the 100 seats at the back of the building and replaced them with two 40-seat screens. Studios 4 and 5 allowed for a more intimate cinema experience and pathed the way for the Genesis makeover in 2012. This included bringing Paragon back through our upstairs bar, available to cinema-goers and non-cinema-goers alike, and opening up the kitchen, serving fresh pizzas and Pieminister pie and mash, like the Royal Premiere feast!
Wanting to create a more luxurious Genesis experience, Tyrone and his dad ripped out the 100 seats at the back of the building and replaced them with two 40-seat screens. Studios 4 and 5 allowed for a more intimate cinema experience and pathed the way for the Genesis makeover in 2012. This included bringing Paragon back through our upstairs bar, available to cinema-goers and non-cinema-goers alike, and opening up the kitchen, serving fresh pizzas and Pieminister pie and mash, like the Royal Premiere feast!
2012. POETRY SLAM.
Picture this. One nippy winter’s night, and looking to get in from the chill, Tyrone wandered into a dodgy pub in Hackney and plonked himself down in a somehow colder, smelly back room wondering what he was doing there. Next thing he knows, a man walks on stage, performs a headstand, announced he was a yoga poet and recites a poem upside-down. The performance inspired the Poetry Slams that Genesis has now hosted for 10 years. The Genesis Poetry Slam is the only free 3-round poetry slam in London. In its history, its hosted Hammer & Tongue, one of the giants in the Slam world, which now has performances at the Royal Albert Hall.
Picture this. One nippy winter’s night, and looking to get in from the chill, Tyrone wandered into a dodgy pub in Hackney and plonked himself down in a somehow colder, smelly back room wondering what he was doing there. Next thing he knows, a man walks on stage, performs a headstand, announced he was a yoga poet and recites a poem upside-down. The performance inspired the Poetry Slams that Genesis has now hosted for 10 years. The Genesis Poetry Slam is the only free 3-round poetry slam in London. In its history, its hosted Hammer & Tongue, one of the giants in the Slam world, which now has performances at the Royal Albert Hall.
Blue Screen 1
Blue Seats and walls before 2014
Blue Screen 1
Blue Seats and walls before 2014
Box Office
Genesis Cinema's origional Box Office
2014 Refurb
The Foyer getting a brand new look circa 2014
Bar Paragon Refub
New look for the bar
2014 Exterior Refurb
Bye Bye to the noughties look
Genesis
The new neon lights being put up in 2014
Genesis
Movies, Mochas & Martinis - Genesis as we know and love it
2019. FRAGMENTS FESTIVAL.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement and a recent industry-awareness of the lack of women and non-binary people in film, Genesis launches Fragments Festival. The festival is a celebration of diversity. We hosted the UK preview for The Woman King in 2022, with director Gina Prince-Bythewood introducing, and celebrated women in music in 2019 with a Bikini Kill pre-party. Now on its third year, we are looking for more ways to push ourselves into the future of female and non-binary led filmmaking.
In the wake of the #MeToo movement and a recent industry-awareness of the lack of women and non-binary people in film, Genesis launches Fragments Festival. The festival is a celebration of diversity. We hosted the UK preview for The Woman King in 2022, with director Gina Prince-Bythewood introducing, and celebrated women in music in 2019 with a Bikini Kill pre-party. Now on its third year, we are looking for more ways to push ourselves into the future of female and non-binary led filmmaking.
2020. LOCKDOWN.
COVID-19 required cinemas to shut for the first time since WWII. With the venue shut, and once it was safe to work in bubbles, the Genesis team refurbished Screen 1 with new seating, extended the Kiosk and built the Yard, an outside eating and drinking area (the modern equivalent of the original 19th Century promenade). It opened in accordance with government guidelines, giving Tower Hamlets residents a space to safely socialise and ease into the new normal.
COVID-19 required cinemas to shut for the first time since WWII. With the venue shut, and once it was safe to work in bubbles, the Genesis team refurbished Screen 1 with new seating, extended the Kiosk and built the Yard, an outside eating and drinking area (the modern equivalent of the original 19th Century promenade). It opened in accordance with government guidelines, giving Tower Hamlets residents a space to safely socialise and ease into the new normal.
2022 - NOW. A NEW NORMAL.
Through the hard work of our super staff, and continual support from our local community, Genesis Cinema has emerged from the other side of the Pandemic with renewed confidence. We welcomed the first Hong Kong Film Festival in 2022; hosted the 30th Anniversary of Raindance in 2023; and have been home to many other premieres, festivals and events, highlighting just how vital our cinema and venue space is to the East End. We’re looking forward to the future of film, and what our historic and exciting venue will host next.
Through the hard work of our super staff, and continual support from our local community, Genesis Cinema has emerged from the other side of the Pandemic with renewed confidence. We welcomed the first Hong Kong Film Festival in 2022; hosted the 30th Anniversary of Raindance in 2023; and have been home to many other premieres, festivals and events, highlighting just how vital our cinema and venue space is to the East End. We’re looking forward to the future of film, and what our historic and exciting venue will host next.