SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day...

I remember the Odeon Merrion Centre very well. Christmas 1969 we went there from school and watched "the great race" with Tony Curtis, i think the following year we watched "Oliver"

Are there any photos in circulation of the cinema in its hayday? Would be interested to see what it was like before the shopping centre was built on top of it.

Has anyone been lucky enough to see inside the Cinema? It is still there. Some pictures would be good...

I'm pretty sure Rikj has been in it, maybe he can contribute some pictures.

I'll try and put some up later. There are currently some on the BBC Leeds webpage in the Local History section. Taken by Greg Taylor.

Paddo wrote: Are there any photos in circulation of the cinema in its hayday? Would be interested to see what it was like before the shopping centre was built on top of it. heres a few i found

I've put some pics from the Heritage Open day online;http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikj/sets/ ... 550990196/

D'y'Know, Bradford has St. Georges Hall, Sheffield has the City Hall, even little Batley has the Frontier Club. How come mighty Leeds doesn't have a concert venue when there's this site gently rotting in the the middle of town?No car park? Alright, we'd have to bribe the attendants at the multi-storey to stay open past nine pm. So that's 20 pence out of the admission price of say...thirty quid. No neighbours to upset with the noise.Granted, it's a bit of a trek for the roadies to get from the van but what the hell.

Agreed - though it is hard to tell the owners of the Merrion Centre that they should bear the cost.I still think it is a shame that what was the T&C club, the Gaulton Cinema, is no longer a venue. Was it 18,000 capacity, something like that? Big enough to bring David Bowie to perform in Leeds City Centre in the 90s.