Hippodrome

The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. The name hippodrome was derived from animal acts forming a significant part of the entertainment. The London Hippodrome was built in 1900 by Frank Matcham for Edward Moss for £250,000 as a hippodrome for circus and variety performances.

The venue gave its first Circus show on 15 January 1900. The first show ever given was a music hall revue entitled 'Giddy Ostend' with Little Tich and Charlie Chaplin. Entry to the venue was through a bar, dressed as a ship's saloon and the performance space featured both a proscenium stage and an arena that sank into a 230 ft, 100,000 gallon water tank (400 ton, when full) for aquatic spectacles. The Hippodrome is currently undergoing an extensive restoration programme taking it back to Matcham's original designs for use as a casino and is set to open on Friday 6th July 2012 .