Shortie, It is most definitely was the "Odeon". That was how it was originally designed and built. The outside was in keeping with the internal decor. Middle Eastern in appearance. It subsequently had all the cement rendering removed and the brick frontage was the final alteration up to the time when it became a bingo palace. It would have looked a lot different if, during the war, the unexploded bomb on the front carpark had gone off. The bomb disposal team were given life-long free admission to the cinema
Big Gee, You are correct about the Civic Restaurant being a "British Restaurant" Your mother was absolutely correct about the quality of the meals. The cup of coffee that we would consume bore no relation to the said beverage but as I said earlier, it was a case of "Hobson's Choice". Whilst not absolutely certain, I don''t think the library was anything other than a library. A stone plaque in the library wall identified the building as a "Carnegie Library" built from the endowment of the Scots philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Back in those days, Birchfields was in the County of Staffordshire and the Staffordshire Council House was the building that became Handsworth Library on Soho Road. I believe Handsworth Library still has the Staffordshire Knot Crest on it's frontage. All interesting stuff!
Great memories! Regards to all. willey