The street address of the Savoy Cinema is 1649-1651 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham. It originally opened in 1923 as a silent cinema and music hall known as the Kings Norton Palace of Varieties (later known as the Palace Cinema).
In 1933 it was refurbished and modernised and re-opened as the Savoy Cinema. A monthly programme for 1938 is headed ‘The Savoy, Kings Norton’. It closed on 2nd February 1958 and was converted into industrial use, known as Savoy Works.
Strangely, the only ‘Savoy Cinema’ I have records of in my listings of Birmingham cinemas (various Kine Yearbooks) is the Savoy, Breedon Cross, Kings Norton which had a seating capacity of 950.
The King’s Norton Cinema opened in September 1938. The architect was Harold Seymour Scott and it seated 1,142. It closed in June 1983 and sheltered flats for the elderly have been built on the site.
There is a photo of the exterior taken in 1967 in the book ‘Birmingham Cinemas’ by Christine Wilkinson and Margaret Hanson published in 2003 by Tempus Publishing Ltd ISBN 0 7524 3080 7
The Majestic Theater, Dallas was used as an extensive film location shoot soon after closing in 1973. The theatre is seen to great advantage in many scenes of Brian De Palma’s “Phantom of the Paradise” (1974) starring Paul Williams. It is available on DVD.
Film Daily Yearbooks only give seating capacities and sometimes adresses. Opening and closing dates can only be determined by having the complete run of them and researching year by year for a particular theatre.
Regarding the Square Theatre, a seating capacity of 568 is given. The address given is 58 Westchester Square (has there been a re-numbering since the 1940’s-50’s?)
The Gaumont Cinema opened as the Gaumont Palace on 9th February 1931. The street address was Steelhouse Lane/Colmore Circus on the corner of Weaman St. Built for the Gaumont British Film Corporation the architect was William T. Benslyn who designed this Art Deco styled 2,034 seat cinema. (Cinerama is not an architectural style). It was re-named Gaumont in 1937 and was closed for a month in August 1942 when it suffered bomb damage.
In the summer of 1961 it was modernised and completely reconstructed internally when Cinerama was installed in 1963. Later showing 70mm prints of Road Show releases (“The Sound of Music” played for 168 weeks during 1965-1968). Seating was reduced to 1,212, in the curtain-walled auditorium. The Gaumont closed on 29th October 1983.
The Empire Cinema opened in 1912. The street address is 1250 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham. It was taken over by ABC Theatres in 1932 and closed about 1943.
The Bristol Cinema opened on 16th May 1937, the architect was Hurley Robinson, built and decorated in an Art Deco style it had a seating capacity of 1,712 seats. It was taken over and operated by ABC Cinemas in 1944 and was re-named ABC Bristol Rd in 1959.
It was closed briefly in 1963 to be converted into a Cinerama Theater, re-opening as ABC Cinerama with 1,232 seats. It closed in 1972 for tripling, was later re-named Cannon and closed in September 1987 and was immediately demolished.
The Odeon Cinema opened as the Paramount Theater on 4th September 1937. The architects were Frank Verity & Samuel Beverley (Cinerama is not a style of architecture) the Paramount was Art Deco. It was one of several Paramount Theaters built by Paramount Pictures in major cities in the United Kingdom. The Birmingam Paramount had a seating capacity of 2,441. The organ was a Compton 4 manual/10 rank which was still in use occasionally into the mid-1980’s.
It was taken over by Odeon Theatres and re-named Odeon in August 1942. It was never part of the ABC Theatres chain. In 1965 it was closed for a few months for a major modernisation which stripped the building of many of its original decorative features. Until it was split up into four screens the huge original seating capacity served well as a venue for pop concerts as well as films.
The Other Cinema closed its doors on 14th November 2004. Though still popular with film fans and doing good business with its ‘art house’ programming, the crunch came with a rent hike from the landlords of the Trocadero Centre in which it is located.
This theater opened in 1914 as the Royal Theater. In 1921 it was re-vamped to provide facilities for vaudeville shows and was re-named Regent Theater and it started showing silent movies from the mid-1920’s. Fox took over the building in 1955, re-named it the Fox Theater and cut away the proscenioum opening to install a Cinemascope screen. It closed in 1999 showing Ron Howard’s film “EDtv”.
The seating capacity of the Auburn Theatre when it first opened in 1938 was 1,802 seats. It was one of the last designs carried out by John Eberson.
It closed as a movie theatre in 1978 and was a nightclub for several years until the elcrical system was blown out during a concert. A video store was opened in the foyer in 1986 and the auditorium was sealed off and abandoned. The video store closed in 1992. Fundraising and community suppost paid for a new roof in 1998. Any further news?
The architect of the Paramount Theater was Ernest Carlson. After closing as a full time movie house in the 1960’s it was used for mixed use concerts & movies. In 1973 the name was changed to the Julia Sanderson Theatre, after a once well known Broadway actress and Springfield resident. Live shows were presented but in 1980 it was converted into a repertory movie house.
The original Wurlitzer 3/11 Opus 2011, Style 230 theatre organ is still in situ as are most of the original light fitings and painted murals.
The architect of the Coolidge Corner Theatre was Ernest Haywood. It was not built in 1933 (as stated in the opening introduction notes above), but was converted in that year from a former Beacon Universalist Church (a Romanesque revival edifice) which was built in 1906.
Originally seating 1,274, the main auditorium now seats 600, the screen in the former balcony seats 250 and the small screening room seats 45.
The architects of the Somerville Theatre were Funk & Wilcox. The opening programme on 11th May 1914 was; “The Inventor’s Wife” on the screen with Vaudeville acts on stage.
The 200 seat Reel Cinema opened in May 2000, although the former Town Hall within which it is located was used as a theatre and and cinema performances on two nights a week from 1997.
The Gaiety Theatre opened on 23rd November 1908 as a burlesque house, the opening programme was Charles Waldron’s “Tocadero Burlesquers”. The architect was Clarence H. Blackall and it had a seating capacity of 1,700.
In 1919 it was re-named Gayety and continued as a live venue until 1931 when it was taken over by New England theatre magnet E.M. Loew who introduced movies to the building, while keeping some stage productions for a while. The 2nd balcony was closed in 1932. In 1949 it was re-named the Publix and continued as a movie thear until it closed in 1980, since when it has been shuttered and un-used.
Many thanks for your most informative comments on the Cameo Theater, James Edwards and the El Sereno area.
I list here the 24 theatres operated by the Edwards Theaters Circuit in 1950;
Alhambra: Alhambra, Coronet, Garfield, Single Bill
Arcadia: Santa Anita
Azusa: State
Beverly Hills: Laurel
El Monte: Valley
El Sereno: Cameo, El Sereno
East Arcadia: Edwards Drive-In
Five Points: Tumbleweed
Garvey: Garvey
Los Angeles: Cairo, Elysian, Green Meadows, San Carlos
Monterey Park: Monterey
Montrose: Montrose
Rosemead: Rosemead
San Gabriel: San Gabriel
South Pasadena: Ritz
Tembple City: Temple
Tujunga: Tujunga
The Paramount has been unused and shuttered since it closed in 1976. It was the only Boston downtown theatre to be built in an art deco style. It opened on 25th February 1932 with “Shanghai Express” starring Marlene Deitrich. The original Wurlitzer 3/13 theatre organ has been removed.
The marquee and vertical sign were restored in 2002 and now its red, yellow, orange and white tracer lights are illuminated on alternate weekends.
The 1941 edition of the Film Daily Yearbook lists the Cameo Theater as having 750 seats and is listed under the El Sereno area, not Los Angeles v(although by 1950 it was listed under Los Angeles and had 816 seats).
I am told by a reliable source that it was at this theatre that James Edwards Jr began his Edwards Theatre Circuit. The head office of that circuit is listed at the Cameo address in 1950.
The Film Daily Yearbook 1941 lists the seating capacity as 750.
The Film Daily Yearbook 1930 gives a seating capacity of 762.
Thank’s for clarifying that Derek.
The street address of the Savoy Cinema is 1649-1651 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham. It originally opened in 1923 as a silent cinema and music hall known as the Kings Norton Palace of Varieties (later known as the Palace Cinema).
In 1933 it was refurbished and modernised and re-opened as the Savoy Cinema. A monthly programme for 1938 is headed ‘The Savoy, Kings Norton’. It closed on 2nd February 1958 and was converted into industrial use, known as Savoy Works.
Strangely, the only ‘Savoy Cinema’ I have records of in my listings of Birmingham cinemas (various Kine Yearbooks) is the Savoy, Breedon Cross, Kings Norton which had a seating capacity of 950.
The King’s Norton Cinema opened in September 1938. The architect was Harold Seymour Scott and it seated 1,142. It closed in June 1983 and sheltered flats for the elderly have been built on the site.
There is a photo of the exterior taken in 1967 in the book ‘Birmingham Cinemas’ by Christine Wilkinson and Margaret Hanson published in 2003 by Tempus Publishing Ltd ISBN 0 7524 3080 7
The Majestic Theater, Dallas was used as an extensive film location shoot soon after closing in 1973. The theatre is seen to great advantage in many scenes of Brian De Palma’s “Phantom of the Paradise” (1974) starring Paul Williams. It is available on DVD.
dave-bronx:
Film Daily Yearbooks only give seating capacities and sometimes adresses. Opening and closing dates can only be determined by having the complete run of them and researching year by year for a particular theatre.
Regarding the Square Theatre, a seating capacity of 568 is given. The address given is 58 Westchester Square (has there been a re-numbering since the 1940’s-50’s?)
The Gaumont Cinema opened as the Gaumont Palace on 9th February 1931. The street address was Steelhouse Lane/Colmore Circus on the corner of Weaman St. Built for the Gaumont British Film Corporation the architect was William T. Benslyn who designed this Art Deco styled 2,034 seat cinema. (Cinerama is not an architectural style). It was re-named Gaumont in 1937 and was closed for a month in August 1942 when it suffered bomb damage.
In the summer of 1961 it was modernised and completely reconstructed internally when Cinerama was installed in 1963. Later showing 70mm prints of Road Show releases (“The Sound of Music” played for 168 weeks during 1965-1968). Seating was reduced to 1,212, in the curtain-walled auditorium. The Gaumont closed on 29th October 1983.
The Empire Cinema opened in 1912. The street address is 1250 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham. It was taken over by ABC Theatres in 1932 and closed about 1943.
The Bristol Cinema opened on 16th May 1937, the architect was Hurley Robinson, built and decorated in an Art Deco style it had a seating capacity of 1,712 seats. It was taken over and operated by ABC Cinemas in 1944 and was re-named ABC Bristol Rd in 1959.
It was closed briefly in 1963 to be converted into a Cinerama Theater, re-opening as ABC Cinerama with 1,232 seats. It closed in 1972 for tripling, was later re-named Cannon and closed in September 1987 and was immediately demolished.
The Odeon Cinema opened as the Paramount Theater on 4th September 1937. The architects were Frank Verity & Samuel Beverley (Cinerama is not a style of architecture) the Paramount was Art Deco. It was one of several Paramount Theaters built by Paramount Pictures in major cities in the United Kingdom. The Birmingam Paramount had a seating capacity of 2,441. The organ was a Compton 4 manual/10 rank which was still in use occasionally into the mid-1980’s.
It was taken over by Odeon Theatres and re-named Odeon in August 1942. It was never part of the ABC Theatres chain. In 1965 it was closed for a few months for a major modernisation which stripped the building of many of its original decorative features. Until it was split up into four screens the huge original seating capacity served well as a venue for pop concerts as well as films.
Bill:
The answer is Barbara Streisand.
The Other Cinema closed its doors on 14th November 2004. Though still popular with film fans and doing good business with its ‘art house’ programming, the crunch came with a rent hike from the landlords of the Trocadero Centre in which it is located.
The Globe Bronx Theater is listed as having 600 seats in 1950.
This theater opened in 1914 as the Royal Theater. In 1921 it was re-vamped to provide facilities for vaudeville shows and was re-named Regent Theater and it started showing silent movies from the mid-1920’s. Fox took over the building in 1955, re-named it the Fox Theater and cut away the proscenioum opening to install a Cinemascope screen. It closed in 1999 showing Ron Howard’s film “EDtv”.
The original seating capacity was 780.
The seating capacity of the Auburn Theatre when it first opened in 1938 was 1,802 seats. It was one of the last designs carried out by John Eberson.
It closed as a movie theatre in 1978 and was a nightclub for several years until the elcrical system was blown out during a concert. A video store was opened in the foyer in 1986 and the auditorium was sealed off and abandoned. The video store closed in 1992. Fundraising and community suppost paid for a new roof in 1998. Any further news?
The architect of the Paramount Theater was Ernest Carlson. After closing as a full time movie house in the 1960’s it was used for mixed use concerts & movies. In 1973 the name was changed to the Julia Sanderson Theatre, after a once well known Broadway actress and Springfield resident. Live shows were presented but in 1980 it was converted into a repertory movie house.
The original Wurlitzer 3/11 Opus 2011, Style 230 theatre organ is still in situ as are most of the original light fitings and painted murals.
The architect of the Coolidge Corner Theatre was Ernest Haywood. It was not built in 1933 (as stated in the opening introduction notes above), but was converted in that year from a former Beacon Universalist Church (a Romanesque revival edifice) which was built in 1906.
Originally seating 1,274, the main auditorium now seats 600, the screen in the former balcony seats 250 and the small screening room seats 45.
The architects of the Somerville Theatre were Funk & Wilcox. The opening programme on 11th May 1914 was; “The Inventor’s Wife” on the screen with Vaudeville acts on stage.
The 200 seat Reel Cinema opened in May 2000, although the former Town Hall within which it is located was used as a theatre and and cinema performances on two nights a week from 1997.
The Gaiety Theatre opened on 23rd November 1908 as a burlesque house, the opening programme was Charles Waldron’s “Tocadero Burlesquers”. The architect was Clarence H. Blackall and it had a seating capacity of 1,700.
In 1919 it was re-named Gayety and continued as a live venue until 1931 when it was taken over by New England theatre magnet E.M. Loew who introduced movies to the building, while keeping some stage productions for a while. The 2nd balcony was closed in 1932. In 1949 it was re-named the Publix and continued as a movie thear until it closed in 1980, since when it has been shuttered and un-used.
Joe:
Many thanks for your most informative comments on the Cameo Theater, James Edwards and the El Sereno area.
I list here the 24 theatres operated by the Edwards Theaters Circuit in 1950;
Alhambra: Alhambra, Coronet, Garfield, Single Bill
Arcadia: Santa Anita
Azusa: State
Beverly Hills: Laurel
El Monte: Valley
El Sereno: Cameo, El Sereno
East Arcadia: Edwards Drive-In
Five Points: Tumbleweed
Garvey: Garvey
Los Angeles: Cairo, Elysian, Green Meadows, San Carlos
Monterey Park: Monterey
Montrose: Montrose
Rosemead: Rosemead
San Gabriel: San Gabriel
South Pasadena: Ritz
Tembple City: Temple
Tujunga: Tujunga
From little acorns big oak’s grow eh!
The Paramount has been unused and shuttered since it closed in 1976. It was the only Boston downtown theatre to be built in an art deco style. It opened on 25th February 1932 with “Shanghai Express” starring Marlene Deitrich. The original Wurlitzer 3/13 theatre organ has been removed.
The marquee and vertical sign were restored in 2002 and now its red, yellow, orange and white tracer lights are illuminated on alternate weekends.
The 1941 edition of the Film Daily Yearbook lists the Cameo Theater as having 750 seats and is listed under the El Sereno area, not Los Angeles v(although by 1950 it was listed under Los Angeles and had 816 seats).
I am told by a reliable source that it was at this theatre that James Edwards Jr began his Edwards Theatre Circuit. The head office of that circuit is listed at the Cameo address in 1950.