IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
The Parade, High Street, WATFORD, WD17 1BS

This is the site of the Odeon cinema in Watford High Street, pictured here http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.aspx?uid=108332&index=0&form=advanced&county=HERTFORDSHIRE&district=WATFORD&collection=John%20Maltby in 1937 in the John Maltby collection. I can find very little online about the history of this cinema but 'The Book of Watford' published by J B Nunn in 1992 has the following entry - "The first building of the super cinema era was the Plaza by the Pond, opened in April 1929. It was taken over by the Odeon circuit and renamed in October 1936, closed in November 1963 and was demolished to make way for a ground-floor supermarket and Top Rank Suite." This renaming would seem to account for the name of the café next door in the 1937 photograph, the cinema only having changed hands around 3 months before John Maltby's photograph was taken. One wonders if they ever got around to changing it to the Odeon café. The building is still recognisable and now houses an estate agency. The Albions descended on Watford in 1981 by which time both the supermarket and Top Rank were things of the past and the present building was occupied by Bailey's nightclub. The nightclub has had several incarnations since that time having become Paradise Lost, Kudos and then Destiny before a major revamp in 2008, reopening in September of that year as part of the Oceana chain of nightclubs.

The pedestrianised north-western end of Watford's High Street features this ornamental pond. Note the heron quite oblivious to its urban surroundings.

Watford High Street is pedestrianised. A pond has been created at the northern end of the street.

This notice has been erected by Watford Borough Council in front of the pond in The Parade, High Street. It has the following wording: Please don't feed the ducks Bread is not their natural diet and makes them ill. It drives them quackers and turns the water green. That wording may have been written tongue-in-cheek, but is still important to note all the same.

The Pond at the northern end of the High Street in Watford was originally a natural feature and was, in the past, used to water horses and cattle. It has undergone many changes in its history and at present is a long rectangle with a low wall surrounding it. At the northern end, directly in front of the photographer, is a raised feature with water falling into the lower level where the boat-shaped features are. There are also two small fountains, one of which is visible in front of the patch of reeds. Rocky islands provide places for the ducks and, in the last couple of years, moorhens to breed. There are numerous fish in the pond, invisible for the most part beneath the dark green water. There are large areas of reedmace, water lilies and irises. The Pond is currently in danger of being 'downsized' although it appears to have been reprieved from being filled in completely. A campaign is being waged to save it and its wildlife. Space is, apparently, required for "an ice rink, Ferris wheel or urban beach." The area around the Pond comprises the 'café quarter' with pubs, clubs and eating places. The Christmas lights are in place but unlit at this time of the morning, apart from one lonely rebel on the right hand side.

The water was a rather alarming pea-green soup colour contrasting with the whiteness of the snow on the roofs.