Going To The Pictures

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.

Cinema Heritage Interactive Map

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

Harold Ackroyd

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. […]

Memorabilia

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.

Visits to various picture houses in the area with family and friends

My father did shift work, so every third week we would all go to the pictures either to the Regent, Plaza or the Corona…

Escapism at the cinema and the glamourous film stars

The lives and views of the stars were big news and the film stars would become as much as a draw to the cinema as the films themselves

The Sun Hall / Imperial Cinema – Stanley Road Bootle

The Sun Hall was one of the earliest venues in the borough to show moving images to patrons back in 1906 when it showed animated pictures with a man behind the scenes providing sound effects. […]

Influence of film stars on fashion and lifestyle

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