The Hippodrome Theatre

Commercial Road, Portsmouth

1907-1941

The Hippodrome Theatre, Commercial Rd, opened on 13th May 1907, showed some films during WWI then mixed variety and films until 1933, when it became a music hall, showing films on Sundays only. It was destroyed by enemy bombing in January 1941. 41 years later in 1982, when the site was eventually cleared to make way for redevelopment of the city centre, an unexploded bomb was found, which made it necessary amongst other things to cancel a Bob Hope appearance at the Guildhall.