The Dome Cinema, Worthing, West Sussex, England, is a grade II* listed building owned by PDJ Cinemas Ltd. The Dome Cinema, which has three screens and a Projectionist's Bar is run by PDJ Cinemas, while Alfresco Services run two function rooms and the cafe at the front of the building. It has closed for refurbishment several times, most recently between December 2005 and July 2007. The name derives from the distinctive dome on top of a three-storey tower over the entrance.
The Dome is an Edwardian building and one of the oldest working cinemas in England, and was opened in 1911 (Brighton's Duke of York's Picture House was opened in 1910). It was opened by Swiss impresario Carl Adolf Seebold. It was originally named The Kursaal — a German word translating as "cure hall". The Kursaal was used as a health centre and entertainment complex by visitors to the seaside town. At the time it contained the Coronation Hall, which was used for roller skating, exhibitions, concerts and events, and the Electric Theatre, the first cinema run for paying audiences in West Sussex.
Following the outbreak of World War I leading residents of the town objected to the German name and after a competition with a prize of £1, the Cinema was renamed "The Dome".
Design and creation
Establishment of the Kursaal
Carl Adolf Seebold moved to Worthing in 1904, from Southend where his family had lived for several years. Seebold acquired the site of the future Dome in 1906.
Seebold began construction of the Kursaal in 1910, after he hired Theophilus Arthur Allen as architect for the sum of £4000. Similar businesses enterprises that functioned as both health spas and entertainment complexes existed on the Continent that were also named Kursaal and Seebold, originally Swiss, was presumably aware of these and used them as a road map for his enterprise.
Seebold's Kursaal opened in 1911. At this time the site retained the extensive gardens of the previous site. Seebold's additions were the Coronation Hall, a skating rink and the Electric Theatre, which displayed short, silent cartoons. The following year Seebold added an awning to cover the garden for all weather use.
The films Seebold showed in the Electric Theatre were sufficiently profitable that he converted the Coronation Hall so that it could serve as a second cinema screen in 1913.
The change of name
World War I broke out on 28 July 1914 and after casualties began to mount the residents became increasingly anti-German. To save his successful business, Seebold held a competition in 1915 for a new name. The grand prize was £1.00. In a retrospective published by The Argus (Brighton) on 4 September 2003 it is stated:
The Dome
It was not until long after World War I had drawn to a close in 1918 that the Dome was converted into a proper, full-time cinema. Seebold had arranged for a raked floor to be added to the Coronation Hall as a temporary measure in 1914 but it was not until 1921 that the change was made permanent when the Dome was re-modelled by architect R. Kirksby for a sum of £8000. This area was to remain in continuous use as a cinema until the Dome was closed for refurbishment on 5 January 1999.
During the remodelling carried out by Mr Kirksby a plaster ceiling was added to the main theatre, along with a large, wood-panelled foyer and a polygonal ticket booth that remained in the building as of 2004. It was also at this time that the Electric Theatre was converted into a ballroom.
For some years the Dome had been the centre of a controversy in that Seebold showed films on Sunday, which was considered a violation of the Sabbath. Local clergymen and town councillors had been attempting to stop this practice for some time, but Magistrates upheld Seebold's application to carry on.
Competition
It was during the 1920s that the Dome saw competition in the form of the Picturedrome, which is today known as the Connaught Theatre, Worthing. Seebold retaliated to his rival by opening the Rivoli cinema in 1924. By 1926 he owned the Picturedrome.
Seebold continued to enjoy a monopoly in the area until more cinemas opened in the 1930s. The Plaza opened in 1933 and the Odeon in 1934. In the days before television, cinema was extremely popular and the town could sustain five theatres.
Second World War
The Dome carried on, albeit in reduced circumstances, with essentially few changes until fear of German invasion in World War II caused it to briefly close. It reopened under a strict curfew and continued business, though not without incident.
A resident of Worthing recalled the following case of enemy action for a BBC history project.