Leeds lost cinemas

Si · Post by Si » Tue 27 Oct, 2009 12:37 pm

trophy wrote: Si wrote: trophy wrote: dont think anyone as mentioned the rialto in rodley ,was a factory and has recently been knocked down for housing.also the palace in pudsey which became the pasadena club which had live gruops in the sixties. and the new picture house which is now a supermarket. Pudsey's Picture House was Fine Fare for years. i was not infering the picture house was in fact new .it was always known as the new picture house presumably to differentiate it from the palace. I know you weren't. Here's a picture of it in it's heyday. Note the little shops attached to the front, long gone.

trophy · Post by **trophy** » Tue 27 Oct, 2009 3:36 pm

great picture i had forgotten what it looked like.

Si · Post by Si » Tue 27 Oct, 2009 4:05 pm

Yeah, everything in front of the main wall with the name on it, is now gone, leaving a sloping open area. I don't know if it was common in old cinemas, but there's no where to advertise what's being shown this week? Not even a space for a small poster.

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Wed 28 Oct, 2009 12:06 am

[trophy wrote:Pudsey's Picture House was Fine Fare for years.Si wrote:iHere's a picture of it in it's heyday. Note the little shops attached to the front, long gone.One of the shops in front belonged to a small chain of newsagents/tobacconists called, I think, J W Rogers & Co. They also had a shop at Stanningley Bottom, and ISTR another one somewhere else in Pudsey. We lads used to buy sweets from the one in the picture, largely because there were "risque" magazines on display. They also sold long cigarettes called Joysticks.My sister and I bluffed our way in to the Picture House at 15 and 14 years of age respectively to see the Hammer Horror release of "Dracula", starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Scared us rigid for weeks!Never went to the cinema in Lowtown.

Horsfordian · Post by **Horsfordian** » Mon 28 Dec, 2009 2:33 am

Hi everybodyI'm an ex cinema fanatic from the Leeds area (horsforth),now in Aussie and came across this forum.Brought back old memories of my travels around the whole area just to look at the cinema buildings....sometimes not even bothering what they were showing,although somehow I remember almost all the films I have seen and at which cinema.My nearest cinemas were the Imperial and Glenroyal in Horsforth.Although the Glenroyal at my tender age seemed like a palace,the Imperial was always redecorated every 2/3 years and was spotlessly clean.My brothers and I 'commanded' the same seats on Saturday matinees and on the way out reserved seats at the box office for my parents for the evening feature.Mrs Hall was the cashier and always managed to give seats C14,15 etc.This was the back row of the centre section as rows A+B started at the side section.When it came to installing cinemascope in both cinemas the Glenroyal was first and I must say they did a good constructual job and did not 'cheat'by bringing the masking down to a comic strip...the whole proscenium was widened and allowed a screen with a good width.I must say we were all pleased to see that this meant a new set of curtains as the original curtain was very badly stained,perhaps by someone throwing an ice cream at it(not us)The Imperial,because of its shape contained its very wide screen in a specially constructed curtained box.I remember the Leeds Majestic did the same as the proscenium could not be widened)Sad to see the end of those daysI look forward to posting my other memories of cinemas in this area.

String o' beads · Post by **String o' beads** » Mon 28 Dec, 2009 2:54 am

Ooh, a cinema buff.May I draw your attention to my search for what happened to the figures that used to adorn the portico of the Majestic until the mid 1960s?http://www.secretleeds.com/forum/Messag ... eadID=1035[/opportunist]

Horsfordian · Post by **Horsfordian** » Mon 28 Dec, 2009 4:06 am

Hi fellow lost cinema membersJust joined,sent a detailed intro to my particular interest,but my message was technically knocked back due to error system of some sort.This is just a second test message.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Mon 28 Dec, 2009 10:04 am

Horsfordian wrote: Hi fellow lost cinema membersJust joined,sent a detailed intro to my particular interest,but my message was technically knocked back due to error system of some sort.This is just a second test message. Hello Horsforfian - I imagine its a fair bet that you are familiar with the following five cinemas in Wharfedale where I lived in years gone by :-GROVE (originally Croft's Picture House) IlkleyNEW CINEMA (later Essoldo) Ilkley.VICTORIA Burley in Wharfedale.BEECH HILL Otley.KIRKGATE Otley.The Victoria, bottom of Peel Place, was a converted church hall or drill hall or similar.Very happy days indeed and, while a teenager, I helped out with virtually every job at The Grove - throughout the cinema and in the projection room. My word, the Health and Safety folks would have a field day today, and to be fair I shouldn't have been allowed near much of the equipment as an uninsured non employee, but what a great experience it was.When I visited the Bletchley Park decoding centre in October I was in for a real "deja vu" treat - there is a fabulous wartime cinema there which also contains a huge exhibition of vintage cinema projectors. I could scarcely believe it when I beheld (after nearly sixty years) the very same BTH (British Thomson Houston) model that we had at "The Grove." The arc light box was propped open as well, so I was able to see again the front fixed carbon rod, and the ratchet fed rear one, which produced the white hot flame needed for the films. You had to change the burnt out rods very carefully with a pair of tongs - when the rods were still hot if one had burnt out during a performance. Then the rear one had to be very gingerly "mated" with the fixed front one to eatablish the arc light, and then backed off to a suitable gap for maximum strength - a fascinating performance. Wonderful wonderful days. In those days the National Anthem was tacked onto the end of the feature film and no-one, but no-one, would dare to avoid standing respectfully while it played - anyone with a tight connection for a bus or train had to make sure they were safely out before "THE END" or stay put.

wilfbarr · Post by **wilfbarr** » Sat 02 Jan, 2010 4:23 pm

the western or the little western commonly know as the bug hutch it was just of Compton road i think it closed down in the seventy's Wilfbarr

dogduke · Post by **dogduke** » Sat 02 Jan, 2010 5:40 pm

wilfbarr wrote: the western or the little western commonly know as the bug hutch it was just of Compton road i think it closed down in the seventy's Wilfbarr The Western was on Florence St but also had another name which I can't remember.The site is to the rear of the Stanley Road recycling centre.I think a lot of cinemas were locally known as the bug hutch or flea pit