[4][5] Designed by architect Gerald Seymour Valentin in the Edwardian Baroque style, it originally opened as the Electric Cinema Theatre, with 600 seats.

In 1984 the then-owners Mainline Pictures proposed to turn the venue into an antiques market; a petition against these plans reached over 10,000 signatures, including those of Audrey Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins.

In July 1993 Paul Bucknor assembled a consortium including Choice FM and The Voice that moved in, with the aim of promoting black film effectively making it the first black-owned cinema in the UK.

The critical element was acquiring the shop next door which would provide space for upgraded toilets, an air conditioning plant and restaurant.

[11] In 2000 the site was acquired by its current owner, the retail entrepreneur Peter Simon, who at the beginning of his career had traded from a market stall outside.