Camden Town's Lost Cinemas - a walking tour

Camden Town might be more associated with music than movies but this world-famous part of London has a rich cinematic history to discover via its buildings old and new.

On this walking tour we’ll explore the rise and fall of the neighbourhood’s cinemas from the magnificent Camden Hippodrome to the unique Plaza cinema that thrived in the 1980s and 90s. We’ll also drop by the Camden Odeon to discover its quirky, independent past and pay tribute to Muppet Show creator Jim Henson.

The tour traces how these buildings transitioned through various forms of entertainment, from music halls and variety theatres to roller-skating rinks and bingo halls and we’ll see how the rise of television, the video boom and changing urban development affected cinema-going habits and the survival of cinemas.

But all is not lost!

We’ll finish the tour at Camden Town’s newest cinema, the award-winning Curzon. This modern venue, with its focus on independent and foreign films, represents the continuing importance of cinema in Camden.

The tour starts outside Mornington Crescent Underground station (Northern line) lasts approximately two hours and ends a five-minute walk from Camden Town Underground station.

About your guide

Nigel Smith is a lifelong movie nerd who specialises in walking tours that explore the history of cinemas and cinema-going in London. His website Memory Palaces tells the stories associated with dozens of cinemas across the capital, some still in use, others repurposed or gone completely.

In addition to leading walking tours Nigel co-runs Tufnell Park Film Club and is part of the team that produces Screenshot for BBC Radio 4.