The Gaumont

The Cadogan Estate has done its magic on Sloane Street turning it into a shopping boulevard with wider pavements and more greenery. It has already transformed the Duke of York barracks site into a pedestrian precinct with restaurants. Now it is moving west along the King’s Road.The Cadogan vision is unashamedly elitist aiming to attract high-end shops, shoppers and rents, and creating more residential space. The euphemism is regeneration. The Howard de Walden Estate has done the same in Marylebone.

This is the Gaumont Palace on the corner of Chelsea Manor Street and the King’s Road in the 1930s but I remember it as a Curzon cinema until it closed in 2018 for redevelopment. It is close to completion and the Curzon will be back better than ever with 600 seats. It’s the best place for me to watch opera. Here is what it looks like.

Originally the panels either side of the art deco facade had listings of films showing. Now there are two ceramic murals by sculptor Shezad Dawood.

“The Gaumont embodies Cadogan’s long-term ambition to create a new commercial and cultural anchor for the King’s Road. The 220,000sq ft mixed-use development includes a rooftop bar, cinema, ‘creative cluster’, meticulously restored heritage façade and a major new public art commission alongside retail, office and residential space.” (Cadogan)

“The Gaumont has already part-opened, with the first outlets on the Chelsea Manor Street side going to independent businesses, which have been deliberately hand-picked by Cadogan to chime with its ambition to embrace all-things creative. These units include:

BookBar – a bookshop, wine and coffee bar, which aims to cultivate a vibrant literary scene through author talks, book clubs, and events.

New Forms – a vinyl café and boutique record shop curated by the team behind Next Door Records. It is a hub for vinyl culture and social connection, with a music-led bar that regularly hosts events and collaborations with artists and musicians.

Art Play – a dynamic space for artists and art lovers, with an emphasis on engagement by providing workshops, exhibitions, and a collaborative environment for the local community.

Two fashion retailers – Arket and Mango – will open flagship stores in the autumn, as will a new pub, to be called The Trafalgar – so-named as a nod to the pub that was lost to the new build. There will also be a new bar and restaurant with panoramic views of Chelsea at the top of The Gaumont.” (The Chelsea Citizen)

It will be different from the King’s Road in the 1970s which had quite another vibe.