Here’s another selection of archive photos of Brixton, this time from a decade ago in January 2006: a month that ended with the Arctic Monkey’s, “When The Sun Goes Down” topping the singles chart.
Now the Electric Brixton, the Fridge was founded by Andrew Czezowski and Susan Carrington in 1981, and was originally located in a small club at 390 Brixton Lane, before moving to premises above Iceland in Brixton Road in 1982.
With growing crowds, the club moved to the former Palladium Picture House – a converted 1913 cinema on the Town Hall Parade in 1985. Note the fridge doors adorning the venue’s façade. The sign advertises, “TOTAL MAYHEM” on Friday and “COLOURS” the next night.
The club closed in March 2010 and reopened as the Electric Brixton in September 2011.
In 2015, some of the original signage from the Fridge went up for sale on eBay.
Read more about the history of the Electric/Fridge:
Fridge history in photos
Palladium Cinema/Fridge (1915)
Palladium Cinema/Fridge (1945)
Brixton Ace flyer (1983)
The large Viaduct development on Coldharbour Lane under construction. Owned by multi-millionaire, uber-capitalist developers Lexadon, there’s ne’er a whiff of social housing to be found here, obviously.
The old and much missed original Phoenix cafe on Coldharbour Lane.
Two quality meals at the Phoenix, but nothing will match the tasty might of their toasted halloumi salad sandwiches. They were bloomin’ lush.
Once the site of a smart cinema theatre and then the Camping Centre, 101 & 103 Brixton Hill has since been occupied by a succession of swiftly disappearing businesses.
Read more here:
Cinema history photo feature
Read the history of the cinema and see archive posters here
Lost theatres and cinemas of Brixton
Old sign revealed on Town Hall Parade.
Looking over Windrush Square, with the Tate Library dominating the scene.
The much missed Brixton Woolworths bit the dust in January 2009, and is now part of the H&M chain with a Premier Hotel currently being built on top.
Happily the adjacent – and lovely – Reliance Arcade is still with us.
One of Brixton’s long-lost pubs, the Black Horse on Brixton Road.
Very little archive material seems to be available for this pub – please get in touch if you have any related photos or documents.
The old pub is now a branch of the Halifax Building Society.
Very few places are missed as much by old school Brixtonians than Bradys/Railway on Atlantic Road.
Despite a long and sustained effort by the community to reopen the venue, it’s now been swallowed up by Mexican-themed restaurant chain, Wahaca.
Night view, Brixton Station Road.
Valentia Place.
Wobbly memorial at St Matthews church, Brixton.
‘Be Alert’ warned this scrolling LED sign on Brixton Hill. ‘This is a burglary hotspot area.’
Police board on Brixton Hill asks for witnesses after shots were fired at the Mass nightclub, which was located at the top of St Matthews church.
See feature: Shooting boards of Brixton.
Knackered sign. Although the Mass nightclub is long gone, and the Bug Bar is now Gremio, the White Horse pub (not ‘whitehorse’) is still in business on Brixton Hill.
Windrush Square scene.
Police warning on Brixton Road about da yoot on bicycles grabbing mobile phones from inattentive pedestrians.
It’s something that’s still going on today.
Heavy manners on Atlantic Road.
Roof detail, Brady’s.
26 Brixton Station Road, which once housed the Pleasure Land cinema (capacity: 150) in Edwardian times.
Read more: Lost Brixton: Lost cinemas of Brixton.
A wet afternoon on a deserted Station Road
Busy scene on Pope’s Road.
Railway arches off Valentia Place. Still home to long standing community of artists – and host to some bloody amazing parties back in the day – the entire area faces massive gentrification.
222, Atlantic Road, once the home to ‘Stones Television and Radio’. See photo feature here.
Morris Minor pootles past Electric Avenue.
The former premises of black newspaper, The Voice, this building right next to the Cooltan Arts squat on Coldharbour Lane was briefly squatted and turned into a venue for weekend raves.
After remaining derelict for the best part of eight years, the building was finally demolished in summer 2007, along with Cooltan next door. The site is now occupied by the Milles Square/Brixton Square private housing development.
See more Brixton history:
On this blog
On the boards
On the comprehensive urban75 Brixton history archives
Lost pubs of Brixton