2-667-949 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Alhambra Theatre, Leicester Square, Westminster, London 1870-1882. Wet collodion glass plate negative. The Alhambra in London's Leicester Square was the brainchild of the impresario and showman Edward Tyrell Smith who bought it in 1858 for the staging of circus acts and later musical theatre. Its Moorish styling included domes, minarets, and horseshoe arches. A fire in 1882 led to its rebuilding, but it was demolished in 1936 as the popularity of music hall entertainment declined. It was replaced by an Odeon Cinema.