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Alhambra Picture House

Changing the subject a little....talking to my husband about the posting, and he says he and his mate Bill always met in the Alhambra Pub in town for a quick one before going on to the Locarno to survey the talent......:Dancedancer01:
Was there a pub named the Alhambra back then in the sixties and is it still there?
Lynda:)
 
Before it became an Asian cinema, it was, for a time in the 1970's, re-branded as the "Alhambra Rock Theatre"....I went to see Lou Reed there and I seem to remember the New York Dolls. This was at a time when the surrounding buildings had already been demolished and they were in the course of laying out the Belgrave Middleway.
 
hi guys there was two picture house on the mosely road as i recall it in the early years long before the ring road was ever imagined in the
bye gone years and donkeys years before they decided about slum clearance in brum
if some of you lder guys like me remember the old belgrave rd years before the road was ever altered and those lovely green swaying trees was ever choped down from one end to the other end up from bristol rd and right up to stoney lane spark brook
when you went up the belgrave rd pasing all the pubs and up te hill to the cross rds of mosely rd
emediately turn right onto the mosely rd and if you turned left towards the city you would walk about 600 hundred yards
you would have come to a lace called in those days mosely road remand centre as it was called in those days
late fortys to early fifties where upon it was later renamed atherstone house for young crims up to the age of about 13 years old
then you had the big old church right next door to it then you had good ld hawleys bakery
which was formerly winbushes in the foregone yearsbefore they came and took over as hawleys
but getting back on track you turned right at the belgrave lights instead of going left
about one hundred yards from them lights was a picture house a dirty looking place this would be in the same era as the other places in the fortys and early fifties to at least till 1957 i think it as an abc pic house it was called that did not do much trading and eventualy it became an asian pic house that went to rac and ruin and eventualy gone completely and then further down the road on the oppersite side was the alambra
which is the picture wich you have just seen on the forum that was quite posh in those days
but like any think erlse it was taken over and ran down so then it became a asian pic house and then went down the pan afew years of opening
just like the kingstone on coventry rd but at the years of the alambra it came under balsall heath
as i said when you walked to your left at the belgrave rd and mosely rd traffic lights the boundry had to change there was a district sign
which said balsall heath so that alambra was balsall heath as listed
but when you went up the mosely rd passing the brighton rd you entered mosey so in fact alcester rd at the time was king heath mosely
but later yearswith the changing of all boundrys from that balsall heath sign was changed to mosely so it became a very wide area
but as i have said in those days the two pic house was less than half a mile apart
and the when thecommencement of brum was decided the poshish pic hopuse was built first the old abc was reborn on the bottom of bristol street and sun street west as it was in those days then they started the house clearance of the very neibouring little house that surround it
and the little tiny coffee shop that was amongest those house all went and many yearts later they decided to slum clearance lee bank and not before time but as we have said and some one else as said past st pauls rd and in between there was chandous rd and that is where it was almost just offr the centre facing edwards rd on the mosely rd
havea nice day every body best wishes astonion
 
Liz

The other cinema was The Imperial on the corner of Clifton Rd opposite the New Inns at the top of Edward Rd. Saturday morning matinée at the Alhambra and Saturday afternoon at the Imperial a days entertainment all for two tiny sixpences.

Phil

Balsall Heath Imperial.jpg
 
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Great times so many cinemas in such a small area, you have to travel about a lot to find one these days, i think there were at least six within walking distance when i was a kid, the three on Mosley Rd, the Triangle, the Luxor, and the one on the corner of Bristol Rd i think it was just called the ABC. thanks Phil
 
hi guys
yes are are both correct i completely forgotten to mention that one it slipped my mind
thanks again guys for that one
enjoy the rest of your day astonion
 
Lived in Highgate (St Martins Flats), and use to walk up to Leopold Street with my mum and dad, or my nan,to go this cinema. Same for the Triangle in Gooch Street. The use to do the morning cinema for the youngsters too. Cowboys and Indians etc. It was a Club. Such fun, all that cheering when the calvary arrived as the indians were attacking.
 
Saturday mornings at the Triangle, do you remember the queue, pity they don't have those sort of things for children these days,
i lived in William Edward St, not far to go.
 
Certainly do. Not sure if the kids would like it now, too much tv and playstations, and there's the worry of letting them out on their own. Sure we didn't have that. By they way I went to St Albans School, where did you go?
 
Great times so many cinemas in such a small area, you have to travel about a lot to find one these days, i think there were at least six within walking distance when i was a kid, the three on Mosley Rd, the Triangle, the Luxor, and the one on the corner of Bristol Rd i think it was just called the ABC. thanks Phil

Liz

I also used the Olympia, the Piccadilly, and the Waldorf in addition to all those you named as I lived smack in the middle of them all.

Phil
 
I think children still love the cinema, of course it was easier then, because there were so many they were a stones throw from everybody, and only children were allowed in so it was pretty safe,I went to Rea St and then Hope St.
 
The Alhambra Cinema was build by Cinema Propeties Ltd along with Adelpi Hay Milli, Orient Aston, and The Edbaston. They sold them plus a load of hmm junk cinemas to ABC. (I have somewere a list of them) This was due to the main shareholders falling out Leon Salberg of the Alexander Theatre. J, Cohen, and Sidney Clift. Sachwell & Roberts did all the Clifton Cinemas bulds, The Alex. Salberg & Clift went on to found the Clifton Chain. J Cohen went on to found the Jacey Circuit.

I had been sent a notice to relieve the Manageress for some days off. of the Cinema the week before it closed. Hmm it closed before I got to do it..

It never had a real stage as such..........
 
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Wonderful! Thanks very much to everyone who replied, particularly Icarus and mikejee for the excellent photos and precise location. No one mentioned whether or not the building is still standing - but having looked at the location on a modern map, it seems unlikely. Chandos Road seems no longer to exist and parts of the old Mosely Road have turned into Highgate Middleway. Incidentally, does anyone know whether there was a branch of Wimbush (the bakers) nearby in the 30s?

Something doesn't add up though: the Alhambra opened in 1929 and the first film shown was the Scarlet Pimpernel. According to both Wikipedia and the IMDB that film was not released until December 1934...
the bakery was called Hawleys not Wimbush hope this clears this up
 
hi guys there was two picture house on the mosely road as i recall it in the early years long before the ring road was ever imagined in the
bye gone years and donkeys years before they decided about slum clearance in brum
if some of you lder guys like me remember the old belgrave rd years before the road was ever altered and those lovely green swaying trees was ever choped down from one end to the other end up from bristol rd and right up to stoney lane spark brook
when you went up the belgrave rd pasing all the pubs and up te hill to the cross rds of mosely rd
emediately turn right onto the mosely rd and if you turned left towards the city you would walk about 600 hundred yards
you would have come to a lace called in those days mosely road remand centre as it was called in those days
late fortys to early fifties where upon it was later renamed atherstone house for young crims up to the age of about 13 years old
then you had the big old church right next door to it then you had good ld hawleys bakery
which was formerly winbushes in the foregone yearsbefore they came and took over as hawleys
but getting back on track you turned right at the belgrave lights instead of going left
about one hundred yards from them lights was a picture house a dirty looking place this would be in the same era as the other places in the fortys and early fifties to at least till 1957 i think it as an abc pic house it was called that did not do much trading and eventualy it became an asian pic house that went to rac and ruin and eventualy gone completely and then further down the road on the oppersite side was the alambra
which is the picture wich you have just seen on the forum that was quite posh in those days
but like any think erlse it was taken over and ran down so then it became a asian pic house and then went down the pan afew years of opening
just like the kingstone on coventry rd but at the years of the alambra it came under balsall heath
as i said when you walked to your left at the belgrave rd and mosely rd traffic lights the boundry had to change there was a district sign
which said balsall heath so that alambra was balsall heath as listed
but when you went up the mosely rd passing the brighton rd you entered mosey so in fact alcester rd at the time was king heath mosely
but later yearswith the changing of all boundrys from that balsall heath sign was changed to mosely so it became a very wide area
but as i have said in those days the two pic house was less than half a mile apart
and the when thecommencement of brum was decided the poshish pic hopuse was built first the old abc was reborn on the bottom of bristol street and sun street west as it was in those days then they started the house clearance of the very neibouring little house that surround it
and the little tiny coffee shop that was amongest those house all went and many yearts later they decided to slum clearance lee bank and not before time but as we have said and some one else as said past st pauls rd and in between there was chandous rd and that is where it was almost just offr the centre facing edwards rd on the mosely rd
havea nice day every body best wishes astonion
the cinema on Mosely Rd after the Mosley was the Imperial on the corner of Clifton RD then you the Kingsway Kings Heath then finally you had the Maypole at Alcester Lanes End
 
Wonderful! Thanks very much to everyone who replied, particularly Icarus and mikejee for the excellent photos and precise location. No one mentioned whether or not the building is still standing - but having looked at the location on a modern map, it seems unlikely. Chandos Road seems no longer to exist and parts of the old Mosely Road have turned into Highgate Middleway. Incidentally, does anyone know whether there was a branch of Wimbush (the bakers) nearby in the 30s?

Something doesn't add up though: the Alhambra opened in 1929 and the first film shown was the Scarlet Pimpernel. According to both Wikipedia and the IMDB that film was not released until December 1934...

Wrong The ALHAMBRA opened 26th December 1928 the first film was Matheson Long in “The Scarlet Pimpernel”. not the Leslie Howard Version as you think April 1st 1930 Cinema Proprietors merged with ABC The Clift Syndicate still owned the buildings of that company
 
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