Going To The Pictures

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.

Memories are made of this… Project overview

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 Heritage Interactive Map

Explore this map of 21 local cinemas within a 3 mile radius of the Plaza, from 1930 to 1960.

We come along on a Saturday morning, greeting everybody with a smile....
Children’s Matinees
Saturday morning, hundreds of unsupervised rowdy children.  What could it be?

“We come along on a Saturday morning, greeting everybody with a smile…”

We come along on a Saturday morning, greeting everybody with a smile….
Children’s Matinees
Saturday morning, hundreds of unsupervised rowdy children. What could it be?

In 1933/34 I went to “The Pictures” for the first time, but I was not impressed.  The black and white film was very old and scratched; it looked like driving rain to me.  A few years later I went again and paid a penny to get in with a penny for ice cream in the interval.

My first visit to the Winter Gardens, Waterloo.

In 1933/34 I went to “The Pictures” for the first time, but I was not impressed. The black and white film was very old and scratched; it looked like driving rain to me. A few years later I went again and paid a penny to get in with a penny for ice cream in the interval.

Flyer for the 'X' rated film 'A Guide for the Married Man'

Flyer for ‘A Guide for the Married Man’, 1967

Flyer for the ‘X’ rated film ‘A Guide for the Married Man’

Local film maker Tim Brunsden has followed the Going to the Pictures project development and has created a documentary which tells the story of the project.

The Documentary Film – The Story of the Project

Local film maker Tim Brunsden has followed the Going to the Pictures project development and has created a documentary which tells the story of the project.

The original building of what was the Palladium Cinema in Seaforth still stands today and has been part of the community for 100 years, having several changes of use. It is currently used as a gymnasium.

The Palladium, Seaforth

The original building of what was the Palladium Cinema in Seaforth still stands today and has been part of the community for 100 years, having several changes of use. It is currently used as a gymnasium.

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

Filming memories with Crosby High School

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

The Bijou - a small cinema in Waterloo

The Bijou – East Street Waterloo

The Bijou – a small cinema in Waterloo

The Cinema's of the 1930's to the 1960's were often seen as being a quite luxurious venue for the public to go. They were an important part of the community for socialising and magnificent places of entertainment

The cinema as a community venue.

The Cinema’s of the 1930′s to the 1960′s were often seen as being a quite luxurious venue for the public to go. They were an important part of the community for socialising and magnificent places of entertainment