Contributions of the group Grand old Cinema

Picturedrome

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 06:12:39 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Art deco cinema architecture. The Picturedrome cinema in Eastbourne first opened its doors on 21st December 1920 and almost made its centenary before closing as the Curzon in summer 2020.

Picturedrome

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:42:07 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Picturedrome in Holmfirth built 1912-13 by the firm of Messrs. Hawthorne & King of Coxton House, Mirfield, and was opened on Easter Monday, March 1st 1913 as the Holme Valley Theatre. It was designed as both theatre and cinema, seating 1040 people; 240 in the balcony and 800 downstairs. The name was initially announced as the Hippodrome, but it was referred to as both the Holme Valley Theatre and the Holmfirth Electric Picturedrome in early newspaper reports. Closure as a cinema came in September 1967 and it reopened as a bingo hall from December 1967 until 1993. Today the Picturedrome is a prominent, refurbished music venue with a capacity of approximately 650, featuring a stage and dance floor.

Super Cinema

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 06:54:04 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Longford Super Cinema at Stretford opened on 12th October 1936. The art deco design was by architect Harry Elder. The 2,000 seat cinema closed in 1965 and was subsequently used as a bingo hall and club.It has been disused since 1995 and awaits a new use. It is listed Grade II.

The Orient

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 08:18:23 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Orient cinema in Ayr was designed by Albert Gardner and opened in 1932. It was designed in the 'atmospheric' manner, with a moorish inspired tower as the focal point of the facade. After nightclub use it has been abandoned for many years.

The Rex Cinema

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Fri, 16 May 2025 19:04:08 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Originally the Wareham Oddfellows Hall and built in 1889, it provided various entertainments such as travelling theatre shows, banquets and concerts. It is likely that visiting Bioscope shows were presented here at the turn of the 20th century. The cinema opened in the building in 1920 and it then named the Empire Theatre. After renovation in 1963 it was renamed as The Rex. In 1987 the running of the cinema was taken over by a group of enthusiastic local people who formed Rex Wareham Ltd. This lasted until 2009 when The Rex was acquired by the Purbeck Film Charitable Trust, and it became a not-for profit cinema run almost entirely by our dedicated volunteers. The frontage is a nice blend of brick with decorative limestone door and window surrounds. It is listed Grade II.

Formerly the Glen Cinema

nobody@ipernity.com (Joe, Son of the Rock) — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 15:16:50 +0000

Joe, Son of the Rock has posted:

Paisley

The Glen Cinema disaster was a deadly crowd crush caused by a smoking film canister at a cinema in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on 31 December 1929. The resulting panic and crush killed 69 children and injured up to 40 others; the final death toll was 71. It is considered one of the worst disasters in Scottish history. The building that housed the Glen Cinema still stands and, as of 2015, houses a furniture store.

Quoted from Wikipedia

The Picture House

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 06:41:09 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Terracotta faience on the old Picture House cinema on Oxford Street in Manchester. The lower frontage has been disfigured by conversion to a Macdonalds eatery.

Naylor and Sale were the architects of what was one of the first purpose-built cinemas in the city centre. It was opened in 1911 by the Provincial Cinematography Theatres Company who called all their nationwide circuit of cinemas 'Picture House'. The PCT circuit was taken over by Gaumont in 1929 but this Picture House was taken over by an independent two years later and it was renamed the New Oxford. In 1960 it was taken over by Rank and it was closed in 1980.

Picture House Campbeltown

nobody@ipernity.com (Joe, Son of the Rock) — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 06:39:48 +0000

Joe, Son of the Rock has posted:

Campbeltown Picture House, designed by Albert V Gardner of Glasgow in 1913 in Glasgow School Art Nouveau style, is a Category A Listed building and one of the earliest surviving purpose-built cinemas in the UK. Quoted from the Campbeltown Picture House website.

The New Picture House, St Andrews

nobody@ipernity.com (Joe, Son of the Rock) — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 18:41:20 +0000

Joe, Son of the Rock has posted:

The New Picture House (often called the NPH for short) is an independent cinema located in St Andrews, Scotland, which was first opened in 1930. It contains four cinema screens, the largest of which contains a row of special "VIP" seats consisting of electronic black recliners and has both a ground level and balcony seating area. Quoted from Wikipedia

'The Tower' Cinema

nobody@ipernity.com (Joe, Son of the Rock) — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 14:41:03 +0000

Joe, Son of the Rock has posted:

Sinclair Street, Helensburgh

Windmill Theatre

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 06:38:19 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth is today one of Britain's earliest surviving Cine Variety buildings. Designed by local architect Arthur S. Hewitt, the Gem opened on the 4th of July 1908 under the lessees the Yarmouth Amusement Centre Ltd, showing continuous 'Electric Vaudeville' all day long from 11am to 11pm at prices of 2, 4, and 6 pence per person, with shows lasting around an hour each. Notices outside the building read 'come in when you like, stay as long as you like'. The films were accompanied by a young lady at the piano, interspersed with songs from a lady vocalist, and occasional gramophone records. Three bioscope operators and three pianists were employed to be able to cope with the twelve hour long continuous programming.

The Gem's interior was a simple hall 160 feet long by 40 feet wide with no stage and the cinema screen fixed to the back wall. There was no balcony and seating was on simple wooden chairs for around 700 people. Local by-laws prevented men and women sitting together under the proviso that it was immoral for men and women to sit together in a darkened hall so men sat on one side of the central aisle, and women on the other.

In the following years a stage and balcony were added and it became the Gem Palace showing films, and with live variety shows on its new stage. A sound system was added in 1930.

After closure during the war it reopened in 1946 as the Windmill Theatre and was soon providing the number two variety bills and popular summer shows in Great Yarmouth, a policy which continued well into the 1960s. It then saw use for a range of activities and exhibitions but is now closed. It is listed Grade II.

The Picture House

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 06:21:53 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Picture House in Stafford was built as a cinema for local independent exhibitor Walter Goodall and opened on 23rd February 1914. It closed on 30th March 1995 and has since been converted to a Wetherspoon public house. In November 2012, the Picture House was equipped with a HD projection screen and began to screen films on Wednesday evenings with a different theme each month. The building is Grade II listed.

Hippodrome

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 21 May 2022 06:25:47 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Bristol Hippodrome was designed by the renowned Theatre architect, Frank Matcham for Oswald Stoll, and was second only in size and grandeur to his London Coliseum, also designed by Frank Matcham in 1904. It opened on the 16th of December 1912. The Theatre's main entrance was constructed on the site of the former Smith & Co Furnishers shop. The frontage has been rebuilt at some point, possibly when the Hippodrome operated as a cinema in the 1930s.

Regal

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 13:50:55 +0000

tarboat has posted:

These days the Regal is an independent 3 auditorium cinema and theatre located in the heart of Stowmarket, Suffolk. Opened in 1936 as a 566-seat cinema for VEH Cinemas Ltd it saw many successful years, but by 1972 it was facing closure. The former Stowmarket Urban District Council stepped in to save the day and ownership was transferred to Stowmarket Town Council. Since then there have been several refurbishments, particularly after a major fire in 2009.

Grand Theatre & Hippodrome

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 06:58:56 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Got to love that ampersand!

This theatre made a grand statement in terracotta when it opened in 1908 and then went through the usual sort of changes that happen to such buildings. 1922 saw it become a cinema and in 1939 the auditorium was remodelled in art deco style. 1955 saw a year back as a variety theatre and then as the Odeon Cinema until 1969 after which there was Laserquest and a variety of nightclubs and disuse. In 2007 it was converted into a pub by Wetherspoon and remains in this use. The terracotta facia is spendid but the ground floor frontage has been completely changed and clashes badly with what is seen here.

Lots of information and plans of the theatre can be found here:
www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/LeighTheatres.htm

Regent Cinema

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 13:59:15 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Redcar's Regent Cinema opened as a music hall, the Pavilion, in 1928, and was where Larry Grayson, performing under stage name Billy Breen, coined his "shut that door" catchphrase.

It closed in 2018 due to structural damage to the building and was demolished in November 2020. A new cinema is under construction on this seafront site. The new three screen cinema is expected to open in spring 2022.

The Kings' lion

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 07:18:13 +0000

tarboat has posted:

This magnificent beast is found on the top of the former Kings Theatre on Trinity Street in Gainsborough. Opened as the Albert Hall in 1885 it was renamed the Royal Albert Hall in 1891 and screened the first films in the town in December 1896. By 1909 it was a cinema named the Kings Theatre and since then has had mixed fortunes. Repertory and variety theatre replaced films in 1958 and then bingo from 1992. Bingo ended in 2015 and the building has since been renovated but remains empty.

Empire

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:11:40 +0000

tarboat has posted:

The Empire Cinema was the first purpose built cinema in Carnarfon, opened in 1915. The cinema held one show nightly with three on Saturdays, no shows on Sunday, at prices ranging from 3d to 1/3d. It made the transition to the sound era in 1930 with a British Acoustic sound system.

In the early-1930’s it changed ownership to Capt. W.E. Pritchard who went on to develop a small chain of cinemas in Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Pen y Groes, Criccieth and Blaenau Festiniog, and his partner in Caernarfon E.H. Jonathan. In 1945, following the death of Capt. Pritchard Guy Baker’s Paramount Picture Theatres purchased the Empire Cinema from the Pritchard family and in 1956 installed Cinemascope when the seating capacity was reduced to 478 to cope with the new lines of sight.

A bingo licence was acquired in the early-1970’s and film shows were reduced to 4 nights per week. Eventually bingo took over completely and in 1986, following the death of Guy Baker, Apollo Leisure took over the hall, refurbished it and today film shows are but a distant memory.

Information from the cinema treasures website:
cinematreasures.org/theaters/31696

Palladium Picture House

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 06:44:21 +0000

tarboat has posted:

When I saw this empty property on Kirkgate in Ripon I immediately thought that it must have been a cinema. The cinema treasures website soon yielded the background.

The Palladium Picture House was opened in early-March 1916. It was originally an old coach house, which had been converted into a cinema, parts of the walls of the earlier building were incorporated.

The Palladium Picture House was closed in 1936, and was rebuilt to the plans of Nottingham based architect Reginald W.G. Cooper, in an Art Deco style. It had 910 seats in stalls and circle. There was also a 30-foot deep stage behind the 30-foot wide proscenium arch, and there were three dressing rooms. Variety was sometimes presented. The facade was executed in a fashionable streamlined Art Deco manner which, it has to be said, does not blend in with the rest of Kirkgate. It was later controlled by a Leeds company Associated Tower Cinemas Ltd. that controlled the Lounge Cinema and Cottage Road Cinema in Leeds.

The Palladium Cinema closed in 1982 with Clint Eastwood in 'Firefox', and was converted into a nightclub, in 2002 known as Sly’s and by 2009 Matrix. It was closed 31st December 2015.

Filmpalast

nobody@ipernity.com (tarboat) — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 07:30:53 +0000

tarboat has posted:

Filmpalast Neue Zeit in the German town of Nordhausen.