The Plaza made history by being the only cinema to open and close on the same day September 2nd 1939 – this was due to war time regulations regarding the closure of public entertainment venues. The Plaza re-opened two weeks later and has had an illustrious history ever since.

The cinema opening was a grand occasion attended by several local dignitaries. Mr. Phillip M. Hanmer who was managing director of the cinema pulled of a fantastic piece off showmanship enjoyed by the Plaza Cinema audience at the opening ceremony, by having a film of congratulations made in Hollywood by American Film Producer, Warren Williams which was made possible by M. J. Friedman of Columbia Picture Corporation. The film was shot in Hollywood , flown by Yankee Clipper to New York, crossed the Atlantic on the ‘Queen Mary’, was then processed in London before travelling to Waterloo in time for the opening ceremony on 2nd September 1939.

The entire proceeds of £102, 10s, 6d from the opening ceremony were donated to Waterloo Hospital.

When the Plaza Cinema opened it had a Compton organ which would accompany film screenings and provide entertainment when the cinema hosted variety shows and events. The original organ is still in existence although the Plaza is no longer its home, it is now in Derbyshire where it has been lovingly restored and refurbished. Further details about the organ can be found from the Cinema Organ Society website.

As well as showing the popular films of the day, the Plaza has always been “More Than a Cinema”. In the heart of the comunity from the early years right through to today, providing entertainment for young and old.

Many happy memories have been shared with the project about the popular children’s cinema matinees, the family entertainment and additional attractions provided through the venue such as variety acts and talent shows.

Several popular variety acts and entertainers have apeared at the cinema over the years including Arthur Askey, Hilda Baker, Ted Ray, Charlie Chester and Tommy Handley.

The cinema today retains many of its art deco features but the structural lay out of the building was changed in 1976 when it was changed from a single screen cinema to having three screens.

The cinema has had several name changes including The Odeon, The Classic, The Cannon, and The Apollo, and over the years has had a turbulent and rocky history facing closure on several occasions. But due to the effort of volunteers and the support from the local community, the Plaza is still here, now named The Plaza Community Cinema it is the only original picture house in the area which has survived life as a cinema, and one of only two in the whole of Liverpool which remain from the 130+ cinemas of that time of the ‘Golden Age’ of cinema, when going to the pictures was such an important and popular thing to do.

In 2012 the cinema underwent change again when it went from showing films on reels to that of digital film shows. New plush seating was installed in the main auditorium downstairs and much on going refurbishment has taken place.

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The site had long been known as an entertainment venue and had previously been known as Marsh Fields hosting Lord Sanger’s travelling Circus and troupes of pierrots and travelling fairs.

The cinema was opened on 21st May 1920 and was originally built for a small group company but handed over to the larger GB Circuit in 1928.

The cinema was a large white building and had the name The Corona Cinema in gold letters at the top.

From when it opened the cinema had an orchestra which would accompany the silent films, as cinemas at that time didn’t have sound systems or speakers like they do now and narrative of the film would be shown via text on the screen.

Page boys would be employed by The Corona and carry sandwich boards around the area promoting the latest films and coming attractions.

The Corona was the first local cinema to be equipped for sound on March 31st 1930 showing the ‘Great Gabbo’ featuring Eric von Stroheim and Betty Compson. It was known locally as the “Talkie House with Orchestra.” The Corona had strong competition from other local cinemas.

In 1942 the nearby Plaza and the Corona were owned by the same company – Circuits Management Association, and the Corona was the first suburban cinema in this chain to close.

The Corona closed as a cinema in 1957. It then became a dance hall and was later demolished. Now shops stand in its place.

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This building was opened as a cinema in December 1920 and was quite grand when it was built. At the time it was described in local newspapers as one of the biggest and “most beautifully equipped cinemas in the neighbourhood.”

image below shows architectural drawings for the Regent Cinema photographed courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

It had the first cafe lounge in a suburban Liverpool cinema, with a white marble staircase leading up to it, ‘serving dainty teas and light refreshments.’

From when it opened The Regent was a very well attended cinema partially due to its levels of comfort and decor. The grand opening took place on Saturday 11th December 1920 with all proceeds going to the St Dunstan Hostel for Blind soldiers and sailors. The afternoon opened with the Regent Orchestra, then some short films, some topical news, a comedy, then the feature film which was called ‘The Isle of Conquest’ staring Norma Talmadge.

The Regent was a popular cinema for many years from its opening and in the 1930’s you would have had to book in advance if you wanted to go on a Saturday night. From the 1940’s right up until 1957 there were continuous performances throughout the day.

Over the years the regent had several alterations made and was equipped for many changes in new technology including being fitted with a Western Electrical Sound System in 1930 with the first talking film being shown called ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’, and being fitted for CinemaScope in 1955 with the first Cinema Scope film being a musical staring Doris Day called ‘Lucky Me’.

Up until its closure in 1968 The Regent had been a popular and an important part of the community and life for many people. The last film shown was ‘Barbarella’ starring Jane Fonda on November 30th 1968. The building was then taken over by Mecca Ltd and was converted into a Bingo and Social Club, it ran as this for 25 years until 2004 when it was taken over by St. Mary’s School and is now the home to St Mary’s Sports College Gymnasium. Inside the building several of the original features have been retained.

below images courtesy of Keith Rose showing the interior of the old Regent Cinema when it was a social and bingo club

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The building was originally St. Luke’s Parish Hall until it was converted into a cinema seating 500.

In 1915 the cinema secured sole rights to screen the Charlie Chaplin films, he was a very popular comedian/ actor at the time.

The cinema was last advertised in the newspapers in July 1916 and appears to have closed around about that time. It then went back to being St. Luke’s and showed plays.

To this very day the building is still in existence and is known as Crosby Comrades Club and used a bar and social club.

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After the outbreak of war in 1914 the Queens Picture House became a popular venue for viewing the latest war reports via the newsreels keeping the local cinema goers informed on the happenings overseas.

As was the case with many Picture Houses at the time, “ladies attending the matinee performances would have been served tea and biscuits on trays during the interval.”

In May 1930 the cinema became equipped for sound and a Western Electric Sound System was installed with the first talkie film being shown on Monday 19th May called ‘Smiling Irish Eyes’.

Throughout the 1930’s the Queens Picture House was well attended despite competition from the nearby Winter Gardens Cinema and the ABC and GB Circuit cinemas in Crosby. From 1939 when the Plaza cinema opened competition for patrons became much closer and many local cinema goers were drawn to the new ‘modern’ cinema.

In 1955 the Queens Picture House became equipped for CinemaScope and in the same year the process of showing First run films began with the film ‘Three Coins in a Fountain’ but only survived as a cinema for four more years as the popularity in television grew

In 1959 the Queens Picture House closed on August 22nd with the last film reels shown ‘I only Arsked’ staring Bernard Bresslaw and ‘ Buchanan Rides Alone’

The Queens Picture House closed on 22nd August 1959. The last film shown there was ‘I only Arsked’ starring Bernard Bresslaw and ‘Buchanan Rides Alone.’

The building later became a furniture store which was greatly adapted. Today on the site stands a bar which plays homage to its cinematic past by being named once again The Queens Picture House.

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The building was built and used a gymnasium before becoming a cinema in 1909, when it was known as The New Picture Hall. After about two months the name was changed to The Winter Gardens opening 28th February 1910 showing a mixture of films and variety acts including dancers and comedians.

The cinema changed hands many times over the years and was refurbished and restructured on several occasions.

In 1914 it came under new management again and was renamed to the Waterloo Play House showing mainly feature films and comedies. The last film to be shown under this name was the silent feature film ‘The Carnival of Truth.’ After this it was renamed The Winter Gardens again and changed to a live theatre as a new leasee and manager took over. The building was drastically altered and seating increased from 450 to 650.

It continued life as a live theatre for many years showing a variety of performances from comedies to Shakespeare.

On December 26th 1931 the Winter Gardens reopened as a cinema, it lasted as a cinema for over 30 years supported by variety acts, music and live performances.

In its later years the Winter Garden’s was known as the place which would show ‘X’ rated films and memories have been shared about the cinema staff often turning a blind eye to the younger cinema patrons trying to watch these films.

As with many other local cinemas in the late 1950′s and 60′s following increased ownership of televisions in the home and added choice of forms of entertainment, the Winter Gardens tried to introduce additional attractions to increase revenue to the cinema which including Dances and Bingo.

The last film shown at The Winter Gardens was ‘The Train’ starring Burt Lancaster on 4th September 1965.

On the site now stands Kingsway Christian Centre.

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The building was erected in 1840 as a Methodist church and at the turn of the century became the headquarters of the Salvation Army, following this the building was used as a place for live entertainment known as The East Street Assembly Rooms.

In 1909 the building was acquired by Weber Son & Arnold who converted the building adding additional seating. On June 5th of that year the opening took place and being the districts first permanent place for live entertainment it became quite a significant event. The opening program included variety entertainment and animated pictures shown on a Cinematograph including Coney Island at Night, A Convict’s Comic Escape and A Sound Sleeper.

In 1910 the theater was renamed The New Pavilion until 1912 when the name The Bijou was reinstated coming under the control of manager William Eltroft who ran it as a cinema – The Bijou Electric Palace and later as The Bijou Cinema. The venue was popular despite its location and proximity to nearby cinema The Queens on South Road.

Following the retirement of Mr. Eltoft the Bijou Cinema was taken over by a Mr. Walter Jackson until November 1922 when it closed as a cinema. The building was acquired by Brady’s Taxi’s Cabs and was then used a motor cycle repair shop until the late 1980′s. The original building was demolished and now two houses stand in its place.

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This building as with several of the old cinemas we will look at was not built as a purpose built cinema. It was built in 1884 as a social centre, and in June 1912 began to show motion pictures. It is noted that local newspapers announced that in order to exhibit motion pictures the hall had been transformed into “the most elaborate picture palace, with electric lighting” and for the safety of its patrons and in order to comply with the 1909 Cinamatograph Act had an entirely fireproof operating box to show the films from.
The Cinematograph Act had come about because film in those days was highly flammable and there had been several fires reported at places exhibiting films.

The opening performance was on Saturday 8th June 1912. It included ‘ A Red Cross Martyr’, ‘Burglar Proof Villa’ and ‘Her Saints Day’

The Motto of the management was “Come once and you’re a Regular Patron” which the management of the Lathom today still adhere to, and have a brass plaque on the wall upon entering the building.

Little is known about its short history as a Picture House and the project has not been able to find any existing archive photographs from this time. The building as it stands today is original and gives a sense of what it may have been like at the time.

Increased competition from other cinemas opening in the area brought about its closure and in 1916 The Lathom closed as a cinema.

The buildings later uses included an Icilma Face Cream factory, a stained glass window workshop a NAAFI Storeroom and after the war a school kitchen. In the 1950’s it became a dance hall and was later used as a Royal Naval Association club, The Lathom also had the Beatles play several times at the venue in 1960 under the name The Silver Beeats.

Today the venue has become a shrine to rock and roll and movie memorabilia. It is used as a social club and bar, housing a vast collection of original and reproduction memorabillia, props, manequins, with life size figures including Marylin Monroe, James Dean and The Beatles.

image below shows the interior of the Lathom as it is today

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The original building of what was the Palladium Cinema 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 images below show original architectural plans for the Palladium Cinema photographed courtesy of Liverpool Records Office

The Palladium was built in 1913 and opened to the public on Christmas day. It was a popular cinema for many years until increased opposition from the building of other local cinemas.

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The Palladium was one of the last cinemas in the area to be installed for sound films ‘talkies’ in December 1930 and had musical accompanying the films and the words on screen to help tell the narrative of the story.

the image below shows a newspaper advertisement from 1957 showing the attractions at some of the local picture houses

Over the years additional attractions such as talent shows and variety acts were implemented in the hopes of increasing cinema attendance.

By the late 1950’s admissions had declined and The Palladium was closed as a cinema in 1959.

image below shows staff of the Palladium Cinema

The buildings later uses included a tobacco store and second hand furniture shop. The building is now a gymnasium called Fitness First and still retains several of its original features both inside and outside.

The image above shows what was the old Palladium Cinema building as it stands today.
The building has been a part of the community in Seaforth for almost 100 years and has had several uses, it is now used as a gymnasium and is still sporting many original features.

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architectural plans for The Stella

It was described as a “super cinema with seating for 1,200”.

Opening in December 1920, the cinema was a popular venue for many years until film bookings became more difficult to come by and restricted their use of first run films.

The Stella has been described as being “a grand cinema” and a “bit posh”. With glazed white marble like facia and steps leading in.

In July 1958 the Stella showed its last pictures with the double feature of ‘If I’m lucky’ staring Perry Como and ‘Plunder Road’ which stared Gene Raymond. The building was used for a very short time as a roller skating rink before being demolished to make way for Stella Shopping Prescient.

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