Windmill Theatre - As The Palais de Luxe

As The Palais De Luxe

Great Windmill Street took its name from a windmill that stood there from the reign of King Charles II until the late 18th century. In 1909 a cinema, the Palais de Luxe, opened on the site. It stood on the corner of a block of buildings that included the Apollo and Lyric theatres, where Archer Street joined Great Windmill Street, just off Shaftesbury Avenue. The Palais de Luxe was one of the first places where early silent films were shown. As larger cinemas were opened in the West End, business slowed and the Palais de Luxe was forced to close.The building complex incorporates Piccadilly Buildings an 1897 building which were the offices of British Mutoscope and Biograph Company an early producer of films.The building became their offices in 1897.