Some Liverpool Cinemas

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Philip,
regarding the Cabbage Hall

Cinema, you may appreciate this story I posted to another forum last year....
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This story is strange but true.

I

had to do a bit of business in Old Swan on Tuesday and parked up in one of the side streets. As I was going back to my car, I noticed a building that looked

like an old cinema on Prescot Rd. Decided to take a pic. Just before I took one, I asked the first person I saw if they could confirm whether it was a cinema

or not.

[This is when it gets weird! ]

The gentleman confirmed that it was. It used to be the Curzon Cinema, Old Swan. It turned out that this

chap was the manager of the Abbey Cinerama for 30 years before it closed down in 1979! Previous to that, he was also the manager of the Cabbage Hall Cinema

which is now the LFC Supporters Club. Previous to that, he was the manager of the Stella cinema in Seaforth!

The gentlemen's name is Ambler Ramsden.

The "Ambler" was his mother's maiden name. He's 85 years old and appears as fit as a fiddle. However, he told me I caught him on one of his good days,

healthwise. He'd just returned from the Royal after having a fitting for a hearing aid and had recently recovered from a mild stroke. He informed me that on

his "bad" days, he can barely string a couple of words together.

Forgot to include the pic I took of the Curzon in my previous

post.

http://www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk/curzonoldswan.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scouserdave

Forgot to include the pic I took of the Curzon in my previous

post.

http://www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk/curzonoldswan.jpg

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Many of these old cinemas are pretty well intact inside. Many

are just not uses as no one can find a use fior the large spaces. A whole theatre was found intact in Glasgow. Most of it was sealed off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scouserdave

Philip,
regarding the Cabbage Hall Cinema, you may appreciate this story I posted to another forum last

year....
=======================
This story is strange but true.

I had to do a bit of business in Old Swan on Tuesday and parked up in

one of the side streets. As I was going back to my car, I noticed a building that looked like an old cinema on Prescot Rd. Decided to take a pic. Just before

I took one, I asked the first person I saw if they could confirm whether it was a cinema or not.

[This is when it gets weird! ]

The gentleman

confirmed that it was. It used to be the Curzon Cinema, Old Swan. It turned out that this chap was the manager of the Abbey Cinerama for 30 years before it

closed down in 1979! Previous to that, he was also the manager of the Cabbage Hall Cinema which is now the LFC Supporters Club. Previous to that, he was the

manager of the Stella cinema in Seaforth!

The gentlemen's name is Ambler Ramsden. The "Ambler" was his mother's maiden name. He's 85 years old and

appears as fit as a fiddle. However, he told me I caught him on one of his good days, healthwise. He'd just returned from the Royal after having a fitting

for a hearing aid and had recently recovered from a mild stroke. He informed me that on his "bad" days, he can barely string a couple of words

together.

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The Abbey at Wavertree Clock was a class place inside. The public areas were really ritzy with a large Busby Berkley staircase. I

wonder if it is all still there.

Anyone got a picture of old Plaza in Allerton Rd? Demolished in the 1970s.

The Curzon

Theatre

Built in 1936, and designed by Earnest Shennan, the Curzon was one the few cinema's where 3D films could be seen. The short lived novelty

of 3D would soon be replaced by Cinema Scope and Magnetic Stereophonic sounds pioneered by Twentieth Century Fox.

The grand opening of the Curzon was

at 2.30 pm on the 10th October 1936. The ceremony was performed by Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor R.J.Hall. The auditorium has 1750 seats, upholstered

in amber and a fully carpeted floor that sloped to a crossover gangway from the main stage. The orchestra pit featured the handsome console of the computer

organ that incorporated all the modern advances including the electronics unit. The organ chamber was behind the screen and the large projection room housed

two Kalee projectors, Western Electronic wide range sound system, spotlight lanterns and electrical equipment.

The prices were 6d, 9d, 1s with reduced

rates in the afternoon. The Curzon closed on the 20th August 1960.

Following it's closure, the building was reconstructed into a row of shops. A

similar use of the building continues with the upper parts of the building relatively unchanged from it's days as a

cinema

http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server...ConWebDoc.1416

First pic I saw in the Abbey that took advantage of "cinerama" was with my

Mum, watching Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scouserdave

First pic I

saw in the Abbey that took advantage of "cinerama" was with my Mum, watching Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.

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I saw that in the

Gaumont in Dingle - without cinerama. A big fat man right in the middle kept laughing very loudly all the time. It caught on.

Philip, do you have

any pics of the Paladium, Hippodrome and Majestic? They were my local cinemas as a kid living in Hughes St, L6.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Lovely photo of the Curzon.
With my old Zenith

camera I could never seem to get the full width in.

Here's the Plaza on an old postcard.

Plaza, 180 Allerton Road, Liverpool 18.
Architect

A. E. Shennan.
Opened 30 Mar 1928.
Renamed Gaumont in 1950, then Odeon in 1962.
Renamed Classic in 1967.
Closed 18 April 1971.
Demolished. A

Tesco supermarket (now Yates's Wine Lodge) was built on the site.

Shops were built on the site of the Plaza's car park, with a new Classic cinema

being built over them. It opened 11 August 1973.

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For some reason I always thought the cinema was further back off the road. I remember it

being the Odeon, then renamed the Classic. Everyone still called it the Odeon. There was a milk dairy behind the cinema. I knew a girl whoes dad owned the

dairy and lived there. The road to the left is a service road and is still there.

The whole area of Penny Lane/Allerton Road had no pubs. A very

large area - odd for Liverpool. The nearest pubs were the Brook House in Smithdown Rd and the Rose of Mossley right up Rose Lane. This has now changed with

the wine bars and the likes along Allerton Road making this road quite an animated place.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

To the original person who asked about the

Cabbage Hall Cinema.
Just because no photos exist of the original cinema, it would still be considered good manners to thank somebody who has gone to

the trouble of trying to answer your enquiries.
Luckily, the person who asked about Reynolds' Waxworks has been interested and appreciative, which has

encouraged me to help as much as I can.

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is that me ??

I only just read this post tonight (Tues 9pm )- I havn't been on-line for

approx 24 hrs or more. So I've only just seen this.

I am very interested in the Cabbage Hall as my family lived near by. I can very vaguely recall a

relative taking me to the childrens matinee.
I think I might have been age 4 or 5 perhaps .. so it must have been approx 1957 or 58.

Very

interesting to see that old cinema program ... I see that it is listed as being on Townsend lane/Rochester rd. Rochester road, for some reason was changed

to become part of Lower Breck rd which it is still called to this day.
Shame they dropped the name Rochester rd - it sounds nicer. :)

Very interesting posts from all.

The Majestic.

I went on my first date there ! :) :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Palladium, 136 West Derby Road, Liverpool 6.
Opened 10 May 1913.
Architects: Nagington & Shennan.
Closed 1 July

1967.
Demolished 1967 for road widening.

The exterior photo was taken just before it closed, and the interior is dated 1950 (I don't know what's

up with the ceiling!).
Both photos are from the LRO Collection at Liverpool's Central Library.

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Philip, you are a star, mate! Many thanks.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

This replaced an earlier Majestic Cinema which

had opened on the same site in 1914.

Majestic, Daulby Street, off London Road, Liverpool 3.
Opened 2 October 1937.
Architects: Gray, Evans &

Crossley.
Closed 27 June 1970.
Demolished 1970.
The site is part of the car park of the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Both these photos are dated

1937, and are from the LRO Collection at Liverpool's Central Library.

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I saw Bonnie & Clyde there.

I don't remember that one. (The Paladium)

Was it up by the Grafton

end of West Derby rd ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Before I do the Royal Hippodrome, will somebody tell me how I post pics so they are a large size like the beautiful one of the

Curzon?
Thanks in advance.

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Hit the quote button. The editor has buttons above. Point to a yellow one that says "insert image". Click it.

A window appears insert the picture adress, click OK. You can preview the picture before committing.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Before I do the Royal Hippodrome, will somebody tell me how I post pics so they are a

large size like the beautiful one of the Curzon?
Thanks in advance.

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Bigging up pictures usually degrades them unless you have certain software.

Probably best if you send them au natural:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

You're welcome Dave.
I didn't mean to offend anybody, but I belong to another group (not

Flickr, which is great) and hardly ever get any acknowledgement that I've even posted, which is very discouraging.

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Comfort yourself in knowing

that they are ignorant ****heads. Probably genetic. It's not their fault:)

Your cinema pics are brilliant! You are in good company here

Philip:PDT_Piratz_26:

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Actually, I have to reduce them for this group.
Do I still

go to "Manage Attachments" and do I then go to "Pics from URL" instead of "Pics from Computer"?
I'm scared of anything technical until I know how to do

it! :eek:

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Phil, rather than faff around with "advice" post the originals to me and I'll reduce them to 800 x

?
dave@liverpoolpictorial.co.uk :PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Lovely photo of the Curzon.
With my old Zenith camera I could never seem to get the full

width in.

Here's the Plaza on an old postcard.

Plaza, 180 Allerton Road, Liverpool 18.
Architect A. E. Shennan.
Opened 30 Mar

1928.
Renamed Gaumont in 1950, then Odeon in 1962.
Renamed Classic in 1967.
Closed 18 April 1971.
Demolished. A Tesco supermarket (now Yates's

Wine Lodge) was built on the site.

Shops were built on the site of the Plaza's car park, with a new Classic cinema being built over them. It opened

11 August 1973.

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The film showing on the Plazza is "Vanessa" with Helen Hayes (1935).

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[..........

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

I managed to follow that up to "insert the URL of the picture".
As far as I know my pics just have a

filename.
(They've been transferred from my camera).

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The extension usually has to be .jpg or .gif. It has to be in a location which it

can be accessed from, like on a server. If you have a web site allocated by your ISP, use this space. Or somthing like the free fkr site will do. Download

the file to the photo site and link to there (give the full address (URL) of the photo). The address must be like say Daves for the Curzon:

http://www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk/curzonoldswan.jpg

Using one of these free photo sites also gives you backup in case your disk

crashes.

Jaw Dropping!
Philip, you are a star Mate!

Thanks

That colour postcard of the Hippodrome is brilliant :celb (23):



I remember that cinema well.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save the historic Woolton cinema have issued an 11th-hour appeal for donations.

more

Hope it stays, I want

to go to it sometime!:PDT_Piratz_26:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

REYNOLDS WAXWORKS

12 Lime Street, Liverpool

1

Reynolds Exhibition can lay claim to being the first establishment in Liverpool to regularly show films. It wasn't exclusively a cinema as

the place was a Waxworks, which had opened about 1858.
Freaks were also frequently put on show.
Reynolds Waxworks showed its first films on

the 31 December 1896, and "The Wonderful Animatoscope Living Pictures" stayed for one week.
Films ("The Cinematograph") returned to Reynolds Exhibition

on 10 May 1897. (They were given equal star billing with "THE LIVING DOLL. A human atom!" This was a 17 months old baby, twelve inches high and weighing

only 22 ounces.) The films then stayed for 19 weeks until 18 September, and it is this period which qualifies Reynolds as Liverpool's earliest (albeit

part-time) film venue.
Films were not to return to Reynolds again for a number of years, but they were a regular fixture by 1910.



"Weekly Courier" 26 March 1910. (Extract).
“The (waxworks) gallery was founded by Alfred Reynolds, the father of the present proprietor, Charles

Reynolds, and the building, with its extensive ramifications, floors and nooks, was originally designed as a temple of Masonry (a Masonic Hall). When it was

nearly ready for occupation a hitch in the negotiations resulted in a dispute, of which Alfred Reynolds took quick advantage, came to terms with the

builders, and speedily opened his "gallery".”

Liverpool Echo, 17 Dec. 1920.
"This morning there has been a deal over Reynolds's

Waxworks, which has changed hands, and will be modernised by Mr Fred Parker, who has left the City Picture House (which was then renamed the Futurist), and

has taken this show-piece."

Photo dated Aug 1921 shows Reynolds Exhibition for sale.

In 1921 - while the

Waxworks was still functioning - there were two separate proposals to convert the building into a cinema. Nothing came of either scheme, and Reynolds

Waxworks was closed in 1922.
In March 1923 the contents of Reynolds Waxwork Exhibition were sold by auction (by Turner and Sons). It was said

that more interest was shown in the costumes than the personalities they represented. Liverpool never did have another Waxworks.
The premises were

reopened in 1924 as Reynolds Billiard Hall, with tables on the upper two floors. The ground floor was used as a tea room, which became the Empress Chinese

Restaurant in the 1950s. The second floor billiard hall reopened as the Marionette Ballroom about 1945, with the first floor continuing as a billiard hall.

Everything closed in 1964 when the building was demolished along with the surrounding property for the Ravenscroft Scheme (St John's Centre).

All the

photos are from the Liverpool Record Office.
The last two also appear in Freddy O'Connor's book "A Pub On Every Corner", Volume

1.

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Thank you so much for this! I have only just noticed it on here....it's inspirational in this day and age that somebody can go to

so much trouble for someone else, purely for selfless reasons....

"Another successful cinematographer was Mr. Monti [sic] Williams [James

Monte], who [in 1897] on Westminster Bridge, with his Eragraph camera made by Haydon and Urry, broke all records for the Diamond Jubilee picture of Queen

Victoria by showing it on the same night at the London Pavilion Music Hall for Mr. Felix Glenister, who had an Eragraph projector installed under the

direction of Signor Polverina and Mr. Fred Griffiths. This film was developed and printed at Islington, and the print was dried on top of a horse-cab on its

journey to the theatre. So great was their enthusiasm that the audience with one accord rose and sang 'God Save the Queen,' and insisted on the film being

shown once again. This was not so simple a task as it is now; the film, after showing, was allowed to drop loosely into a basket as there were then no

restrictions from the London County County Council. . . . A second print of this film was also made and wound upon a drying fame, and while still wet was

dispatched by train to Liverpool, where, upon its arrival, it was shown by Mrs. Reynolds at her then famous Waxworks Show in Lime Street at 4 o'clock on the

following morning before a large audience, which had waited all night, and after the first screening went delirious with amazement and delight. The film had

to be shown four times." ("Filming the Diamond Jubilee: A Popular Exhibit," The Times, April 9, 1935, p 19)

From

website on Haydon and Urry Ltd., Makers of the Eragraph Projector & Suppliers to the Fairground Showmen

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fantastic stuff!
really grateful for your help.
where do you get your info

from?
central library?

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wow, that is so cool
it all just

fascinates me!
building up quite a collection of Liverpool books myself.
Which is great :)

I love it too. Local history is

fascinating. I've been collecting stuff for years and have a few folders full of cuttings and pictures.
The likes of this forum is fantastic for

swapping info.

Brilliant ! :) :)

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