ABC Cinema, Brighton

The site on which the cinema was built, between Grand Junction Road, Pool Valley and the bottom of East Street, was previously occupied by Brill's Baths, a proprietary public bath-house. Such establishments were very popular in Brighton in the 18th and 19th centuries as an alternative to bathing in the sea. Built in 1823 by a Mr Lamprell, it was taken over by his nephew Charles Brill, who commissioned George Gilbert Scott to rebuild and extend it in 1869. Bathing establishments became less popular in the 20th century, and the building was bought by a developer and demolished in 1929. The popularity of the Regent Cinema, which had opened in 1921, encouraged the development of rival cinemas.…

The former cinema is Art Deco in style, albeit a freely interpreted version of it. The East Street (north) and the Grand Junction Road (south) elevations are treated differently: the latter is "strongly vertical", Although much larger than the surrounding buildings, especially on the small-scale East Street, it "provide[s] an interesting transition to the seafront". Despite the internal alterations, it is also significant for being the last of Brighton's super-cinemas to survive: the Regent and the Astoria have been demolished. The south entrance was originally the main one. There are three sets of windows above the entrance canopy, in a 1–3–1 formation with tall pilasters separating the…