Trocadero (London)

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For the origin of the term Trocadero, and other uses of the word, see Trocadero.

In London the Trocadero Restaurant of J. Lyons and Co. opened in 1896 at a site on Shaftesbury Avenue, near the theatres of the West End, which had been formerly occupied by the notorious Argyll Rooms, where wealthy men had met the ladies of the night. The new settings were magnificent in an Opera Baroque style, and the various Trocaderos of the English-speaking world have derived their names from this original, the epitome of grand Edwardian catering. Murals on Arthurian themes decorated the grand staircase, and the Long Bar catered to gentlemen only. During the grim days of World War I, the Trocadero initiated the first "concert tea": tea was served in the Empire Hall, accompanied by a full concert programme. After the war cabaret was a feature of the Grill Room. The Trocadero closed on February 13 1965.

Trocadero entertainment complex

Trocadero is currently a tourist-oriented entertainment, cinema and shopping complex in Piccadilly Circus. However its key original attractions Sega World and its predecessor, the Guinness World Records Exhibition, closed several years ago, and in 2005 developers announced plans to replace them with an office and hotel development.

The magnificent 3,400-seat Trocadero Cinema in the Elephant and Castle area of the South Bank opened in December 1930. The cinema is no more but its Wurlitzer organ, the largest ever shipped to the UK, survives.

External links

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