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.
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
The cinema memories we have recorded through the project have helped to create a short film which gives a glimpse into what Going to the Pictures was like from the 30′s to the 60′s.
Film cards, magazines and photographs of the stars became valuable prized possessions which were collected and exchanged by the cinema goers and would be a talking point in society.
The Picturegoer film magazine is probably one of the oldest film magazines having first been published in 1913, it was a typical fan magazine not only telling readers about new films but also carried stories about the film stars and their private lives.
Crosby High Students at Sefton Records Office viewing old maps and photographs to see how the area and community has changed over the years and where the Picture Houses in the area once stood.
Volunteers through the project were treated to a tour of The North West Film Archive in Manchester where they learnt about how the archive plays a key part in preserving our local and regional film heritage.
Watch some more short clips from people sharing their memories of the Children’s Cinema Matinees of the 1930′s to 60′s
This is a scanned copy of a flyer that was handed out in cinemas to advertising forthcoming films.