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I am one of seven children and live in Waterloo. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when we were all younger, we used to go to the Odeon cinema (now the Plaza) on Crosby Road North, Waterloo.

On Saturday mornings Mum would be glad to see the back of us and we would head off to the cinema where they held the Saturday Club. We would pay our 6(d) pence to go in to the cinema, we would then buy our sweets and popcorn from the counter and when we walked into the main auditorium there would usually be a man playing the organ. This would then lead to us all singing our Saturday morning song, when we had finished we would settle down to watch something exciting like Flash Gordon, or a western. I always remember the adverts; it’s a bit like the telly nowadays, but without the fast forward. During the interval we would look out for the lady with the ice-creams and would have either a tub or an Orange Maid. If you were lucky you got a Jubbly – hmm, lovely. After the interval there would be something else to do, such as a competition or a draw. Sometimes the competition was a Yoyo race to see who could ‘walk the dog’, ‘swing the baby’ and other tricks that I have long forgotten. This did not happen all the time, but when it did it was great!!!

We lived from one Saturday to another and the happy memories of the Odeon for me as a child in the 50s and 60s are filled with happy times.”

Edwina Lyons

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

If it was the Corona we would have an early tea, rush from Brownmore Lane down Endbutt Lane through Coronation Park to get to the Corona Picture House, which was were the Co-op shop is now in College Road. The park would be closed when we went home so we walked the full length of College Road, Kingsway, Stuart Road and into Brownmore Lane: A long evening out.

Most Saturday afternoons I would go with school friends to the Stella in Seaforth, as the father of one of my friends was the manager and we would get in free.

Sometimes we would go to the Queens or the Winter Gardens picture houses; they were also known as the ‘Flea Pit’.

We always had to stand in queues to get into any picture house.

On Saturday mornings there was a club for children, I think it was 6 pence to get in.”

Cherie Bootle

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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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 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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The Electric Picture Palace once stood on Bridge Road in Litherland. It was built as auction rooms and became a cinema opening in December 1910 following a change of aquisition of ownership and refurbishment to the building. The refurbishment also included the installation of including electric lighting.

The manager at the time was a man named WJ Moxton, who was said to have supplied excellent programs of entertainment to the patrons.

It was one of Liverpool’s shortest surviving cinemas lasting for only 3 years before it was destroyed by fire in July 1913.

Mr. Moxton went on in 1913 to become the manager of the newly built Palladium Cinema situated down the road.

The Gores Directories 0f 1910 – 1912 mention the Electric Picture Palace and have it situated at 19 -21 Bridge Road.The site today is empty and adaptions to the layout and round about and road structure in the area have made it difficult to pin point the exact location.

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The day was 2nd September 1939 and due to the onset and declaration of World War II the government ordered all cinemas and places of entertainment to be closed due to fear of bombing. Calls were quickly raised to re-open the cinemas and within two weeks the restrictions were lifted.

The cinema was a place where the public could be entertained, to take their mind away from rationing and the harsh realities of war as well as an escape for a few hours into the magical world of film.

It provided a way of helping keep up spirits and would later be used as a useful tool in providing information about the war efforts and a way of communicating public information to large audiences through films and government announcements.

The newsreels and public information films made for the cinema gave the government a means of controlling what and how information was given to its audience as tighter controls of film censorship took hold.

Film makers such as Humphrey Jennings, David Lean and Carol Reed produced British films to rival Hollywood. These gave accounts of British life through the war and served as a purpose to boost morale, giving a reflection of war all be it with a certain slant which could now be deemed as propaganda to a cynical eye. Films such as ‘Listen to Britain’ 1942 directed by Humphrey Jennings and Stewart McAlister.’ ‘The True Glory’ 1945 directed by Carol Reed and ‘A Diary for Timothy’ also directed by Jennings in 1945.

Of course not all cinema goers would want to watch films about the war, they wanted to go to the pictures to escape into the comforts and luxurious surrounding which the cinema provided.

Unfortunately a few of our local picture houses were damaged and destroyed during the war years. The area was hit quite badly due to its close proximity to the docks. Old Picture Houses such as The Broadway, The Imperial and the Metropole were hit in strikes and closed. Bombing during the May blitz caused devastation not only to buildings and businesses but also to families, around the corner from where the Metropole stood a memorial stone has been erected in memory of those who lost their lives.

In 1909 named the Winter Gardens Theatre, the manager was a man named Ludwig Blattner he said ‘he proposed to offer high class entertainment equal to any in the city’ This was the era of silent cinema and many venues were supported with a mixture of film, animated pictures, music and variety acts.

Several short term leases were made available and the Winter Gardens Changed hands to the Apollo Syndicate, with Ludwigg Blattner becoming manager and promoter again in 1911, later changing its name to The Apollo Theatre.

Just before the outbreak of the First World War, Ludwigg Blattner coming from German origin was detained as an enemy alien. In his later life Ludwigg Blattner bought Neptune Film Studios at Elstree, where he formed Blattner Film Corporation and went on to develop one of the first known commercial sound recording systems.

The building changed name to the Apollo in 1914 and closed as a cinema on July 22nd 1923. After structural alterations it was re opened as a County Hall and was severely damaged during the May Blitz.

Following the building being demolished the site was used to build a school which was also later demolished. Today the site is used by Hugh Baird College.

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The plans show original designs for the cinemas, changes of use of buildings for conversion into picture houses as well as upgrades and alterations to the buildings, such as installation of sound systems.

Heritage Officer for the project Christina Condron has photographed the plans and a selection can be found below and throughout this website. We would like to thank Liverpool Records Office for allowing us to photograph and use the images for use within the Going to the Pictures Project.

Architectural plans for the Plaza Cinema Crosby Road North Waterloo

Architectural plans of The Queens Picture House South Road Waterloo.

Architectural plans for the Corona Cinema College Road Crosby

Architectural plans for the Bijou Cinema East Street Waterloo

Architectural plans for the Stella Cinema Seaforth Road Seaforth

Architectural plans for the Palladium Seaforth Road Seaforth

Architectural plans for the Regent Cinema Liverpool Road Crosby

Architectural plans for The Coliseum, Linacare Road, Litherland