Venue Information:
he Rio has a rich history stretching back over 112 years. The original building was an auctioneer's shop owned by a pioneering business woman called Clara Ludski. She converted it into one of London's very first cinemas in 1909, and called it the Kingsland Palace of Animated Pictures, this early silent cinema was designed by a young W.E. Trent who went on to be the in-house architect for Gaumont Cinemas. The new fad for moving pictures proved so popular in Dalston that Clara bought up the properties on each side of the building, and commissioned the architect George Coles to design a spectacular purpose built picturehouse. Construction began in 1913, and the Kingsland Empire opened in 1915. There was a two-level tea room, domed tower, and an elaborate auditorium with stalls and a steep circle, featuring five side arches and a proscenium with double corinthian columns either side, topped by a frieze and lifesized statues. It was a lot more theatrical than most cinemas of that date.