The aim of the Going to the Pictures Project has been to help preserve a part of our local cinema heritage by collecting and recording memories from people who used and worked in the local picture houses from the 1930′s to the 1960′s.
Explore this map of 21 local cinemas within a 3 mile radius of the Plaza, from 1930 to 1960.
This image shows the interior of the old Palladium Cinema in Seaforth. The ornate decorative features have lasted for almost a century within this building which has had many uses including the cinema, a warehouse […]
A fantastic book about the Picture Houses of Liverpool has been a great source of information for the project and has in some cases worked as an aid memoir in collecting and helping jog memories. […]
Dot Sharp (now living in Canada!) contacted us to share her memories of cinema: “My brother and I would run as fast as we could on our 5 and 6yr old legs from Bark Road […]
The project has been very fortunate in having several people who have come forward with items or collections of cinema memorabilia. Volunteers through the project have helped to scan and digitize materials.
My father did shift work, so every third week we would all go to the pictures either to the Regent, Plaza or the Corona…
Cinema programs were freely available within cinemas and used to promote forth coming films and local buisinesses. Here we have an original copy of a program from the Bootle Odeon for June 1963
Built as a theatre in 1890 then moved on to show popular moving images, known locally as ‘The Ranch’ the building held many interesting memories until it was destroyed by fire in the 1950′s
At one time many cinemas were not allowed to open on a Sunday and those which did had several restrictions placed upon them.