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Birmingham Cinemas

"The Picture House" Ladypool Road Opened in 1915.. In the very early 1920's changed name to "The New Olympia Cinema. Seating capacity was 800.. Architect I beleive was Archibald Hurley Robinson.. Later became part of the Lyons Estate Curcuit which owned at one time "The Triange Gooch (Selling to ABC) "Globe Cinema Aston" "Bullring Cinema" plus 50% of the "Mayfair Cinema"


Closed 1958...
 
Piano. Drums and other things to hit sound effects :eek:) Double Bass. Violin might have two on Fridays and Saturdays. Matinees usually Piano only... That is what we used in Our Budget sites. which would match the plinth in front of the:playful: stage Hmm God the ruhbbish I know......
 
It's one I never used Mike but only because I did not live anywhere near there.
Glad you like it and it's my pleasure to post it.
 
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The Capitol Alum Rock.

If you look at the two pics of the Capitol you will see in CAPITOL 1 on the roof line you can see the pent roof of the auditorium behind the frontage, this is how the building was originally opened with an under balcony projection room. Shortly after opening the cinema was so popular a decision was made to extend the stalls area to the rear, the problem this caused was that because the screen was now further away the beam from the projector clipped the front overhang of the balcony, so to cure this problem a new projection room had to built on the flat roof at the front of the building. If anyone who went there wondered why the Capitol apeared very long and thin inside the auditorium, and also that size of the picture was relatively small compared with the size of the auditorium this is the reason. The new projection room can be seen in Capitol 2 picture
 

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more Gaiety
 

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The Plaza, 1927 on it's first day of opening, it closed down after 45 years.
 
More Cinemas


Bristol circa 1946. Originally built by Albert Rogers who was head of The Victoria Playhouse Group, and managed by his son John Rogers.
It had a nautical theme starting outside with the large lighthouse on the top of the building, the doors were designed like the doors on a luxury liner both internally and externally, most people think that as the cinema stood on the Bristol Road this is where the the name originated from, but the name in fact was derived from the models of the BRISTOL SAILING SHIPS that were in the alcoves either side of the proscenium arch surrounding the screen, when the house lights went up the ships were illuminated with backlighting. Unfortunately because the cinema was situated so close to the city centre Mr Rogers was barred from getting first run films and so in the end the cinema was sold to ABC whose other cinema in the town centre was the Forum latter known as the ABC New Street.


The Adelphi managed by Frank Crane

The Broadway prior to modernisation and becoming the CINEPHONE also originally owned by THE VICTORIA PLAYHOUSE GROUP

The Futurist

The Oak
 

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MOre Cinemas.

The Tivoli at the Swan Yardley

THE PICTURE PLAYHOUSE.
This was situated in Acocks Green on the site of what is now BOOTS the chemist, it was only ever a silent cinema, and it closed when THE WARWICK CINEMA opened just further along up Westley Road, (now Warwick Bowl and Laserquest)
 

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Most of these cinema ads are from a 1958 newspaper.
 
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The Victoria, Green Lane Small Heath, it was known locally as the 'Green Lane Cinema'. 1951.
 
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