About us
The Old Cinema, London’s antique and vintage department store
Opened on Chiswick High Road in 1979. Recently named in the ‘100 best shops’ in the world by Retail Week, this former Edwardian picture palace boasts 10,000 square feet of showrooms and is home to a collective of antiques dealers, decorators, designers, and jewellers.
The Old Cinema was just that, a local picture house circa 1908 to 1934, when it was relinquished and remained dark for two decades– apart from a brief spell as parachute storage during WWII.
The building reopened in the 1950's selling Victorian furniture and was soon attracting a strong export market as traditional British antiques became the vogue around Europe, America and Japan.
During the 1970s, the site narrowly avoided demolition by a supermarket chain. Instead, a couple of local antique dealers obtained the freehold, refurbished the old building and created the much loved local attraction that continues to inspire visitors with its eccentric mix of furniture and accessories