Some Liverpool Cinemas

[PhilipG]

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[PhilipG]

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[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.

[scouserdave]

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

post.

[Waterways]

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

post.

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.

[Waterways]

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.

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

[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.

[Waterways]

First pic I

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

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.

[scouserdave]

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.

[Waterways]

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.

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.

[PhilipG]

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[lindylou]

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.

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.

[lindylou]

Very interesting posts from all.

The Majestic.

I went on my first date there !

[scouserdave]

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.

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

[PhilipG]

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