[1] The cinema was designed by Julian Leathart and W. R. Grainger for Joseph Mears Theatres Ltd, and was opened on 21 April 1930, as the Richmond Kinema.

The façade, faced with faience, is in neo-Egyptian-influenced Art Deco style.

Above the entrance, there are windows with Art Deco chevrons in the metal glazing; above these are Ionic capitals featuring lion masks.

Screen 1 retains the atmosphere of the original auditorium, evoking a 17th-century Spanish courtyard: there is elaborate grillwork, loggias and steeped pitched roofs with Spanish pantiles to the sides.

[1][2][3] The listing text comments that it is "One of only three surviving 'atmospheric' interiors in Britain, the others being The Academy, Brixton, and The Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park.