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.
Patriotic Cinema goers would stand for the National Anthem which was played at the end of the film screenings.
The Regent Cinema was the first suburban cinema in the area to have a cafe lounge installed when it was built in 1920, over the years the building has had several uses including a bingo and social club. It is now part of St Mary’s School Gymnasium.
Another early cinema was on Pembroke Road in Bootle it was called The Winter Gardens Theatre and also Apollo Theatre. The building which stood was built in the 1890’s and was originally known as Beaconsfield […]
The memories of Going to the Pictures we have recorded for the project will be stored within the North West Sound Archive so that part of our local cinema heritage is preserved for future generations
Through the project we have been filming cinema memories, some of these can be seen as small clips on the website and the whole interviews have been put into the North West Sound Archive
From 1930 through to 1960’s the main influence in films came from America and showed many glamorous beautiful film stars gracing the screen, not only through the films but also through the news reels
Some cinemas would have additional entertainment aside from the films which would entertain and involve audience participation.
Through the project we have invited people into the Plaza Community Cinema to share their cinema memories on camera