The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, London. It opened in 1854 and was originally built as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts. The Alhambra closed and was demolished in 1936.
On 25 March 1896, Robert W. Paul exhibits his moving-image projection, renamed the “Animatograph,” at the Alhambra Music Hall in Leicester Square. This moving-image projector was originally named the “Theatograph” at an earlier unveiling on 20 February 1896. Paul’s machine was the most successful British equivalent of the French film projector, dubbed the “Cinématographe.” The Cinématographe was exhibited the previous year, 1895, by Auguste and Louis Lumière. Image: Screenshot from Robert W. Paul's film Blackfriars Bridge (1896), exhibited at the Alhambra Music Hall in Leicester Square in 1896. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.