Prior to the redevelopment of 42nd st about 9 years ago, when all these theatres were boarded up i took some photos and a close-up of the original amazingly ornate doors of the empire, they had carved greek-style faces and around the face was the inscription “pandora theatre"
i cant find any reference to the empire being called this?
anyone shed any light?
The building is in a deplorable state, damp, derelict and covered in graffitti, there is scaffolding up, but it has an air of abandonment, is there any news on its future?
the david theatre was just off broadway behind the ameritana hotel, i stayed in the hotel in 1990 and my room looked down on the neon marquee, i ventured inside the david but it had little or no decoration and didnt appear to have been a legit theatre, there was a slopping stalls floor and then some rooms, overflowing toilets and dark sleazy corridors upstairs full of fat old guys beating off, there were dead roaches everywhere… i dont know if it still exists
The Gaiety over the road was a much more fun affair
Hi, bizzarely a lot of Alfie was filmed in Manchester England, for about six months last year four blocks of the city centre were dressed to look like new york, it was a very strange experience to have american street signs and pavements on familiar manchester warehouses, in some shots you can see the enourmous printworks building which houses the 20 screen filmworks cinema.
The building is currently surrounded by boarding and the sound of drills and excavators suggests that some major work is currently happening, the 1980’s lobby suspended ceiling has been pulled down revealing the original ornate plaster ceiling that appears in very good condition apart from the front section which has been removed. the regentstreetonline website says that studies have been done into bringing the cinema into reuse as soon as possible as part of the redevelopment of heddon st, quite what this use would be is dubious as there would be little point in operating it as a cinema, its location is not right (hence its short operational life span)
More ominously there are currently four entire blocks of regent st that have been demolished retaining only the facades…
The listing should be for The Gate Cinema to avoid confussion (as there is a Gate Theatre nearby, that began upstairs above the cinema as a theatre club in 1951)
The gate is closing this sunday (1st Aug) for a four week period of restoration and refurbishment.
A state of the art air con system is being fitted into the grade II listed auditorium which will be very welcomed by regular customers, there will be new toilets, new seats with extended leg room, the capacity will be reduced from 240 to 186, with the rear seats being replaced by double love seats, there will also be new carpet and some repainting of the wall as well as a full cleaning of the plasterwork.
The lobby will be totally refitted with a new wood parquet floor and a new combined box office/bar with leather seating and a new chandelier light fitting (the current lobby dates from 1985 and has little historical merit)
Externally there will be a new canopy/marquee and new blade sign.
There will be photos of the building work on the official website.
This cinema has been doomed ever since manchester planning authorities allowed the 16screen amc to be built almost opposite, the sucess of the 20 screen filmworks across town hasnt helped. The Odeon has been doing very poor business for some years now inspite of its prime location and suprisingly nice screens. If it was opened up again it would be an awesome theatre however manchester already has the nearby Palace with its fabulous victorian interior and deco facade, and the oppulent opera house, as well as a host of smaller theatres and huge concert halls….
so lets face it, this amazing building with some exquisite original fittings is likely to be demolished just like the huge Gaumont which stood a hundred yards from the Odeon and inspite of its listing was flattened to make guess what… yes another parking lot.
CORRECTION
This building has been open since 1999 as the Scala nightclub and it hosts a lot of varied and very successful evenings and has regular bands performing there.
The nightclub is built in the stalls area and has a separate main dancefloor and stage in the former balcony area and a third dance floor upstairs in what would have been the cirlce lounge/projection rooms.
As you can imagine none of the auditorium decor has survived and the building has gone back to the bare brick, the only remaining areas of interest are the enterance lobby with its terratzo flooring and the staircases that go up the curved corner of the building which retain some plasterwork and decorative metal railings and grills.
Externally the building has been restored and looks wonderful at night with the circular windows picked out in blue neon.
As a point of interest the last film show at the Scala was “a clockwork orange” and this was during the time it was banned in the UK and was the reason the Scala closed.
I was in South Beach recently and was forced to go clubbing, to my delight we were taken to CroBar, the exterior is wonderful and beautifully restored, the lobby area is still fairly as it was but sadly not a single vestige of the auditorium remains, it has been stripped back to the bare brick walls and roof beams.
This amazing building is now the Academy Theatre, the exterior has been relit with green and red neon and looks fantastic at night, i went on saturday evening to see the Scissor Sisters in concert and the place was packed with at least 3000 people, the lobby is in pretty good shape considering its used for rock concerts, with the original glass deco light fittings, the auditorium is as above, most of the plasterwork survives and i really would not call it mutilated at all, the more delicate features are protected behind glass screens and the plaster trees and vines are all still in place but could do with being painted a lighter colour so you can see them. The balcony is still seated but the stalls floor is now standing only. Its still an awesome building and surprisingly intact, not that it couldnt do with a good clean.
This theatre is so over-rated, the seats are uncomfortable and the legroom is very poor, the screen is far too small for a theatre of this size and the sound is poor too, the refurbishment has left a very clinical bland modern lobby and circle lounge with all the atmosphere of an airport lounge.
although the empire sc 1 across the square is a bit shabby its a million times better with its stadium style seating, comfy reclining seats and enormous screen, and its glitzy vegas syle lobby decor at least creates some sense of being in a real movie theatre
You cant help wishing though that they both played a more diverse range of films as they are both dominated by long runs of the latest blockbusters.
at lest they are keeping the facade, this is/was the best bit of the building and has some amazing detailing, can anyone post photos of the demolition? Its so sad that there is so little of old salford left
CORRECTION: this theatre is on Home St just off Lothian Road, its a three screen arts cinema. The building opened in 1914 and has a fabulously rich italian renaissance interior dripping with ornate plasterwork.
It was the first cinema in edinburgh to have a bar which was opened by Sean Connery in 1963.
In 1991 two small screens were added, with seating as follows, sc1 – 253 seats, sc2 – 75 seats, sc3 – 60 seats
In 2003 the Cameo was bought by the Picturehouse group who aim to uphold its pedigree as Edinburghs favorite arts venue.
There are planned refurbishments/restorations to the lobby and bar areas this summer.
official website: www.picturehouses.co.uk
the lobby still retains much of its streamlined art deco plasterwork but the screens are all nice but dull multiplex style auditoriums with fabric wall covering
at the rear of the building up on the back wall there is an advertising panel that still has the old (and peeling) Gaumont name on view
latest news is that easycinema are looking at buying the Coronet as their London flagship, thankfully being listed they cant paint it orange, this will keep it as a cinema but i cant help feeling that its the next worst option to closure
with 388 seats! and 147 on the stage, this is a little variety theatre that became a local cinema, there are plenty of large west end halls and theatres for orchestras to perform in.
the manchester paramountopened on 6th october 1930, the original seating was around 3000, 1400 in the stalls (now sadly chopped up into three screens) 650 in the mezzanine (now much reduced but a single screen with lots of original plasterwork and with a complete crush lobby area that still has a wonderful 1930’s feel) and 950 in the grand circle now the big screen, but very plain with only a little ornate plasterwork remaining at the back of the ceiling, the other two screens have been built in the former basement cafe (some nice plasterwork and on the stage (no decoration whatsoever of course)
all of the convertions could easily be removed and return the place to its original magnificence, however the cinema now has to compete with a 16screen amc and a 20sceen UCI filmworks nearby, so its future is very uncertain and it sits on a very prime piece of real estate.
a few years ago i was taken on a tour behind the scenes by the projection team, and in the subterranean basement there is a huge air conditioning plant still intact with a massive flywheel, aparently in the 80’s they switched it on and it drained all the power in the area and dimmed the street lamps, but it was powerful enough to put a layer of ice on the inside of the original auditorium
the lobby and screen 1 retain much of the very rich italian renaissance plasterwork although they are painted in very gaudy shades of pink and purple, the interior is very close in design to that of the nearby Plaza which has recently been gutted again this time to become a supermarket!
UGC are rumoured to want to expand the ground floor of the Haymarket from 2 screens to seven and make it a dedicated arts film venue, it does need some money spending on it, the exterior is very grimey and the signage is rusting and faded (not what one would expect from a top price west end hall)
what a tragedy, as usual its greedy developers and a wishy washy council who can be bothered to get involved, this is such a magnificent building, its a pity that the facade cant even be saved, no doubt it will be flattened in a few weeks.
theres so little of old salford left to give the place any character
please can someone take photos of the demolition if possible?
i remember this cinema when i was a student and we used to miss lectures and watch movies for only 50p per ticket, the big screen was one of the complete original screens with allthe plasterwork and the original seats which were very hard and you had to move around a lot to find two next to each other that wernt broken, the proscenium dated from the 60’s and had multicoloured metal star lights around it, screen 2 was fairly big and had a 70’s ceiling and curtained walls, it had a crazy 60’s oil lamp projector on the screen inbetween shows which gave a real hippy feel to the place, sc 4 and 5 were tiny boxes with bright blue seats and the curtains had rotted away so there was only the metal tabs that swung into place if it was a scope film, the remaining screen was one i didnt visit (honest) it showed continuous soft porn and there were always lots of dirty old trouser fumblers hanging round the door having a fag (ahh the days of smoking cinemas)
it closed when then owners Cannon opened a new mulitplex across town at Salford Quays 9the second in the UK) which has since closed itself, victim of the many new megaplex’s that surround manchester
i really missed this place as it was right by the university and very handy, it sat vacant for years until it became the dancehouse and its now rather posh and in some ways lost its charm
NB the cafe next door has the same zingy art deco plasterwork on its ceiling
Prior to the redevelopment of 42nd st about 9 years ago, when all these theatres were boarded up i took some photos and a close-up of the original amazingly ornate doors of the empire, they had carved greek-style faces and around the face was the inscription “pandora theatre"
i cant find any reference to the empire being called this?
anyone shed any light?
The building is in a deplorable state, damp, derelict and covered in graffitti, there is scaffolding up, but it has an air of abandonment, is there any news on its future?
the david theatre was just off broadway behind the ameritana hotel, i stayed in the hotel in 1990 and my room looked down on the neon marquee, i ventured inside the david but it had little or no decoration and didnt appear to have been a legit theatre, there was a slopping stalls floor and then some rooms, overflowing toilets and dark sleazy corridors upstairs full of fat old guys beating off, there were dead roaches everywhere… i dont know if it still exists
The Gaiety over the road was a much more fun affair
sorry this should have been on the other news item
Hi, bizzarely a lot of Alfie was filmed in Manchester England, for about six months last year four blocks of the city centre were dressed to look like new york, it was a very strange experience to have american street signs and pavements on familiar manchester warehouses, in some shots you can see the enourmous printworks building which houses the 20 screen filmworks cinema.
The building is currently surrounded by boarding and the sound of drills and excavators suggests that some major work is currently happening, the 1980’s lobby suspended ceiling has been pulled down revealing the original ornate plaster ceiling that appears in very good condition apart from the front section which has been removed. the regentstreetonline website says that studies have been done into bringing the cinema into reuse as soon as possible as part of the redevelopment of heddon st, quite what this use would be is dubious as there would be little point in operating it as a cinema, its location is not right (hence its short operational life span)
More ominously there are currently four entire blocks of regent st that have been demolished retaining only the facades…
The listing should be for The Gate Cinema to avoid confussion (as there is a Gate Theatre nearby, that began upstairs above the cinema as a theatre club in 1951)
The gate is closing this sunday (1st Aug) for a four week period of restoration and refurbishment.
A state of the art air con system is being fitted into the grade II listed auditorium which will be very welcomed by regular customers, there will be new toilets, new seats with extended leg room, the capacity will be reduced from 240 to 186, with the rear seats being replaced by double love seats, there will also be new carpet and some repainting of the wall as well as a full cleaning of the plasterwork.
The lobby will be totally refitted with a new wood parquet floor and a new combined box office/bar with leather seating and a new chandelier light fitting (the current lobby dates from 1985 and has little historical merit)
Externally there will be a new canopy/marquee and new blade sign.
There will be photos of the building work on the official website.
This cinema has been doomed ever since manchester planning authorities allowed the 16screen amc to be built almost opposite, the sucess of the 20 screen filmworks across town hasnt helped. The Odeon has been doing very poor business for some years now inspite of its prime location and suprisingly nice screens. If it was opened up again it would be an awesome theatre however manchester already has the nearby Palace with its fabulous victorian interior and deco facade, and the oppulent opera house, as well as a host of smaller theatres and huge concert halls….
so lets face it, this amazing building with some exquisite original fittings is likely to be demolished just like the huge Gaumont which stood a hundred yards from the Odeon and inspite of its listing was flattened to make guess what… yes another parking lot.
CORRECTION
This building has been open since 1999 as the Scala nightclub and it hosts a lot of varied and very successful evenings and has regular bands performing there.
The nightclub is built in the stalls area and has a separate main dancefloor and stage in the former balcony area and a third dance floor upstairs in what would have been the cirlce lounge/projection rooms.
As you can imagine none of the auditorium decor has survived and the building has gone back to the bare brick, the only remaining areas of interest are the enterance lobby with its terratzo flooring and the staircases that go up the curved corner of the building which retain some plasterwork and decorative metal railings and grills.
Externally the building has been restored and looks wonderful at night with the circular windows picked out in blue neon.
As a point of interest the last film show at the Scala was “a clockwork orange” and this was during the time it was banned in the UK and was the reason the Scala closed.
I was in South Beach recently and was forced to go clubbing, to my delight we were taken to CroBar, the exterior is wonderful and beautifully restored, the lobby area is still fairly as it was but sadly not a single vestige of the auditorium remains, it has been stripped back to the bare brick walls and roof beams.
This amazing building is now the Academy Theatre, the exterior has been relit with green and red neon and looks fantastic at night, i went on saturday evening to see the Scissor Sisters in concert and the place was packed with at least 3000 people, the lobby is in pretty good shape considering its used for rock concerts, with the original glass deco light fittings, the auditorium is as above, most of the plasterwork survives and i really would not call it mutilated at all, the more delicate features are protected behind glass screens and the plaster trees and vines are all still in place but could do with being painted a lighter colour so you can see them. The balcony is still seated but the stalls floor is now standing only. Its still an awesome building and surprisingly intact, not that it couldnt do with a good clean.
This theatre is so over-rated, the seats are uncomfortable and the legroom is very poor, the screen is far too small for a theatre of this size and the sound is poor too, the refurbishment has left a very clinical bland modern lobby and circle lounge with all the atmosphere of an airport lounge.
although the empire sc 1 across the square is a bit shabby its a million times better with its stadium style seating, comfy reclining seats and enormous screen, and its glitzy vegas syle lobby decor at least creates some sense of being in a real movie theatre
You cant help wishing though that they both played a more diverse range of films as they are both dominated by long runs of the latest blockbusters.
hi andy, could you email me some of the photos…thanks
.uk
at lest they are keeping the facade, this is/was the best bit of the building and has some amazing detailing, can anyone post photos of the demolition? Its so sad that there is so little of old salford left
CORRECTION: this theatre is on Home St just off Lothian Road, its a three screen arts cinema. The building opened in 1914 and has a fabulously rich italian renaissance interior dripping with ornate plasterwork.
It was the first cinema in edinburgh to have a bar which was opened by Sean Connery in 1963.
In 1991 two small screens were added, with seating as follows, sc1 – 253 seats, sc2 – 75 seats, sc3 – 60 seats
In 2003 the Cameo was bought by the Picturehouse group who aim to uphold its pedigree as Edinburghs favorite arts venue.
There are planned refurbishments/restorations to the lobby and bar areas this summer.
official website: www.picturehouses.co.uk
the lobby still retains much of its streamlined art deco plasterwork but the screens are all nice but dull multiplex style auditoriums with fabric wall covering
at the rear of the building up on the back wall there is an advertising panel that still has the old (and peeling) Gaumont name on view
Hi Mike, any update on the demolition, will the facade go as well?
latest news is that easycinema are looking at buying the Coronet as their London flagship, thankfully being listed they cant paint it orange, this will keep it as a cinema but i cant help feeling that its the next worst option to closure
with 388 seats! and 147 on the stage, this is a little variety theatre that became a local cinema, there are plenty of large west end halls and theatres for orchestras to perform in.
the manchester paramountopened on 6th october 1930, the original seating was around 3000, 1400 in the stalls (now sadly chopped up into three screens) 650 in the mezzanine (now much reduced but a single screen with lots of original plasterwork and with a complete crush lobby area that still has a wonderful 1930’s feel) and 950 in the grand circle now the big screen, but very plain with only a little ornate plasterwork remaining at the back of the ceiling, the other two screens have been built in the former basement cafe (some nice plasterwork and on the stage (no decoration whatsoever of course)
all of the convertions could easily be removed and return the place to its original magnificence, however the cinema now has to compete with a 16screen amc and a 20sceen UCI filmworks nearby, so its future is very uncertain and it sits on a very prime piece of real estate.
a few years ago i was taken on a tour behind the scenes by the projection team, and in the subterranean basement there is a huge air conditioning plant still intact with a massive flywheel, aparently in the 80’s they switched it on and it drained all the power in the area and dimmed the street lamps, but it was powerful enough to put a layer of ice on the inside of the original auditorium
any news on the demolition? can someone ask the site security what the plans are…
the lobby and screen 1 retain much of the very rich italian renaissance plasterwork although they are painted in very gaudy shades of pink and purple, the interior is very close in design to that of the nearby Plaza which has recently been gutted again this time to become a supermarket!
UGC are rumoured to want to expand the ground floor of the Haymarket from 2 screens to seven and make it a dedicated arts film venue, it does need some money spending on it, the exterior is very grimey and the signage is rusting and faded (not what one would expect from a top price west end hall)
what a tragedy, as usual its greedy developers and a wishy washy council who can be bothered to get involved, this is such a magnificent building, its a pity that the facade cant even be saved, no doubt it will be flattened in a few weeks.
theres so little of old salford left to give the place any character
please can someone take photos of the demolition if possible?
i remember this cinema when i was a student and we used to miss lectures and watch movies for only 50p per ticket, the big screen was one of the complete original screens with allthe plasterwork and the original seats which were very hard and you had to move around a lot to find two next to each other that wernt broken, the proscenium dated from the 60’s and had multicoloured metal star lights around it, screen 2 was fairly big and had a 70’s ceiling and curtained walls, it had a crazy 60’s oil lamp projector on the screen inbetween shows which gave a real hippy feel to the place, sc 4 and 5 were tiny boxes with bright blue seats and the curtains had rotted away so there was only the metal tabs that swung into place if it was a scope film, the remaining screen was one i didnt visit (honest) it showed continuous soft porn and there were always lots of dirty old trouser fumblers hanging round the door having a fag (ahh the days of smoking cinemas)
it closed when then owners Cannon opened a new mulitplex across town at Salford Quays 9the second in the UK) which has since closed itself, victim of the many new megaplex’s that surround manchester
i really missed this place as it was right by the university and very handy, it sat vacant for years until it became the dancehouse and its now rather posh and in some ways lost its charm
NB the cafe next door has the same zingy art deco plasterwork on its ceiling
for more photos of this gem see this link
http://www.dukeofyorkscinema.com/gallery_page.html