The Odeon building is one of the popular landmark buildings in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).
The building is located at the intersection of Latema Road and Tom Mboya Street and serves as a transportation hub for commuters plying various routes, including Thika Road, Waiyaki Way, and Kiambu.
However, not many know the story behind the building, which also hosts various shopping stalls.
To begin with, its name “Odeon” is an Ancient Greek word meaning “a place for singing”, also relating to “Nickelodeon” which was first mentioned in 1888 and was widely used to describe small cinemas in the United States starting from 1905.
Odeon Cinema was first founded in 1928 by a British businessman Oscar Deutsch, who first launched the “Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation,” a cinema hall in the United Kingdom.
The first cinema to open under the Odeon brand was launched in 1930, in Perry Barr, Birmingham. It was designed by Harry Weedon using maritime-inspired Art Deco architecture.
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Odeon Cinema opened its doors in Nairobi, Kenya in the early 1950s making it the flagship of the Odeon Cinemas chain in Eastern Africa.
The first film screened at this cinema was the Drama/Romance film Anarkali, starring Pradeep Kumar, Bina Rai, and Mubarak Mechant.
The firm, then a large international company, continued with local expansion, opening another branch in Nakuru.
However, various challenges including the Mau Mau conflict and stiif competition from other cinemas, including Shan, Liberty, Embassy, Casino, ABC, and Globe cinemas, disrupted the company’s operations.
The Nairobi Odeon Cinemas was later sold to Indian Film Combine Ltd in 1959, which operated it for ten years before passing it to the Kenya Exhibitors Ltd.
Odeon had daily shows starting from 1 pm to 9 pm during the 70s and 80s. It showed the new Kung Fu blockbusters and the first repeat Hollywood blockbusters.
Despite being one of the best cinemas in Kenya, Odeon Cinemas died over time due to declining audience and revenue, as people shifted to digital streaming services.
The cinema was transformed into a Church in the 1990s under Pastor Pius Muiru. The building is now an education hub and hosts the Kenya Aviation College Nairobi Campus.
