SCREENING FILMS AT THIS ADDRESS SINCE 1909
One of London’s first cinemas, the original building was an auctioneer's shop owned by pioneering businesswoman Clara Ludski. She converted it into one of London’s first cinemas in 1909, naming it the Kingsland Palace of Animated Pictures. With growing demand, Clara expanded the site and commissioned George Coles to design The new Kingsland Empire, which opened in 1915. It featured a two-level tea room, domed tower, and an ornate auditorium with Corinthian columns, a frieze, and life-sized statues. It was a lot more theatrical than most cinemas of the time!
The Empire was modernised in 1937 in the Art Deco style by the renowned architect F.E. Bromige, and although the facade was simplified following bomb damage in WW2, the cinema of 1937 is almost entirely intact for our audiences today.
In 1959 we became the Classic Cartoon Cinema, then one of London’s first arthouse venues in 1960, before shifting to adult films as the Tatler Cinema Club in 1970. This lasted until 1975 when we became a Kung-Fu, Bollywood, and Elvis revival cinema…
In 1976, we found new life as an independent, community-run cinema The Rio, becoming a charity in 1979. In the 70s and 80s, the Rio was a key venue for the local activists and community groups who made Hackney what it is today (just check our archive!) and, as well as being a cinema, we were home to a radio station and a photography project with its own dark room, The Rio Tape / Slide project. We had a significant feminist film programme and were closely linked with the landmark community space Centreprise, whose legacy project Literacy Pirates we still work with today.
We have a pivotal place in Hackney’s cultural story. John Akomfrah (representing the UK at the 2024 Venice Biennale) brought the Black Audio Film Collective to the Rio in 1982 “The Rio was central to our practice. It became not just a place of work but a place where you could explore how a cultural group functions and continues to work inside a community.”
In 1997 we were granted Grade II listed status, and following a heroic campaign by Charles Rubenstein we were once again revamped - this time by iconic cinema architects Burrell Foley Fischer.
In 2017, with the backing of our local and industry supporters via the RioGeneration campaign, we added Screen 2 and a revamped café / bar in 2017. In 2022, we redeveloped and improved our lobby and bar, which is now bustling almost every night of the week.
We will be 50 years old in 2026 and will be gathering your memories of the last half-century of The Rio as well as listening to your hopes for the next 50 years of London’s greatest independent cinema!