Glad to see the grand has had a new lease of life after being closed for so many years I hope they will find some similar sort of use at the other end of lord street for the old mecca bingo / garick theater as thats very much more art deco from the 1930s and would be a shame to lose it as the grand and Garick were the main theaters / cinemas in thier day and ARE part of southport’s Heretiage not to mention the uks Heretiage of art deco or 30’s built cinemas / theaters that are growing less and less as time goes on as Most councils deem them not worthy of a listed status!
I was lucky enough to visit the grand when it was a Bingo hall in the Late 80s early 90s when i worked for Coral then gala bingo on what they called Seaside Jamboriees …basicaly they were trips to thier seaside clubs shuch as southport, Blackpool ( regent and coral Island) etc from other clubs ( iworked at the ashton under lyne club that used to be the old Pavillion cinema ,still standing luckily as a furniture shop … was bought for that when we left in 1999…but sadly they ripped out a lot of stuff there balcony and plaster work still intact but projection rooms etc have gone) I’m not sure what bingo company owned the grand before (could have been Granada as coral / gala tooK thier bingo clubs over around the same time as i worked for them! loved visiting the old cinema bingo halls back then as Gala in the mid to late 90s started a new build program .Im glad the grand is still standing and has recently took on a new lease of life as the grand
Brasseire as of 2022 /2023
From 2018 on the BBC website about the fire and the O2 abc history! And I agree with Mike_blakmore’s comment given its LONG history as part of Glasgow’s landscape (ALSO OF NOTE IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1875 AND WENT THROUGH MANY CHANGES BEFORE)
Next door, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s new home for the Glasgow School of Art was under construction, the first half opening in 1899 and the second half in 1909.
I mean 143 yrs of exitance only classed a grade C building NOW to be Possibly demolished (news reports from 2020) after this devastating fire at the Glasgow School of Arts ..
we have lost SO MANY CINEMAS ACROSS SCOTLAND, WALES, AND ENGLAND over the yrs to demolition…. all be it if they took on different lives after closing as a cinema and Prolonged their existence be it a bingo hall or night club, etc These days so many historical building (not just cinemas) are being torn down in the name of Progress to be replaced with boxy offices or apartments/housing!
Well it finally looks set to be demolished this article is from the Oldham chronicle dated 26th April 2023 https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/23480511.historic-oldham-building-demolished-new-plans/?fbclid=IwAR2M2DCMF9NLD12Z_GmuWSYtGDkCVDTeNFyMk0xxZn8ZeATTITeI85IWKrc
Sadly we visited Ramsgate this weekend 04/08/2022 till 07/08/2022 and the Granvil is shuttered looking a bit worse for wear (we stayed in a hotel just op the road opposite) AND IT’S NOW UP FOR SALE ….but will prob end up being demolished :(
MMM was looking at all the cinemas that have been demolished or closed down in Kirkcaldy and most of them seem to have been destroyed by fire seems unusual and unlucky that Kirkcaldy had that many fires in cinemas or cinemas that converted to bingo halls?
This was local to me where i grew up ..sadly it had closed as a cinema 10 yrs prior to me being born ..BUT i remember it being a bingo hall as my gran used to go and play and remeber the big roxy sign being lit up at night ect! …never got to see the interior as was to young to go in and by the time i was it had already turned into a quilting manufacturer so dont even know if any of the original interiors were still there …I Missed it being demolished as i had moved out the area
sadly i have heard since my last post that the owners have ripped out the projection box area and toilets in the balcony to make more room ect ….shame realy as when i worked there there was still a LOT of the equipment for things like the light faders , cinema scope control panels ect in the projection room ..projectors had gone but still think there was something that projected slides down to the screen …also just of the projection room there was a spiral staircase to nowhere ..that was above the prize bingo shop ..soo im asuming that when it was a cinema that was an access to projection room from the ground floor!
haem that should have been twitter feed not titter lol https://twitter.com/Bradford_Live?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1363539582801870848%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bradfordlive.co.uk%2Fhome
Restoration is coming along well given the corona virus pandemic ect ..they have now actualy manage to remove all of the tripling of the cinema and got it back to one big auditourium! …you can follow the progress on their you tube channel Bradford live!and also their titter feed and web site! here is the YT vid of restoring the auditorium in 2019! https://youtu.be/xJpOiUpbZQs
The derelict explorer just posted these pics today on their FB page …obv pics taken after cloesure but before demolition! though youd find em interesting https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=183989246845451&set=pcb.184005483510494
there is a page on the bristol posts website of bygone brislington that includes a great picture of the outside of the Ritz in 1970 before demolition! https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/gallery/15-pictures-perfectly-capture-brislington-4735810
used to work for coral then gala as it was back in the late 80s to 2000s based at the pavillion in Ashton Under lyne before they did all the new build clubs and abandonned the old cinemas! have fond memories of going to the cintra and the old ABC at Broughton for regional meetings ect when they were still open as bingo clubs …the abc at broughton was lovely inside ! shame what happend to it …and the cintra chucked on the scrap heap for a generic modern build ect and even those have now closed due to covid! of the 6 gala /buzz bingo halls that were in greater Manchester 3 have now gone! (3 of the biggest i may add! salford, harpurhey and wythenshaw (what used to be the golden garter back in the day before it burnt down and a new club was built!)
Sadly today 26/06/20 the news has been reported by lancashire live that the empire will not be reopening after lockdown and is to be demolished to make way for housing https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackpools-historic-empire-bingo-club-18492821?fbclid=IwAR2CwYTBmSsz8vorAGcB23oEBx5c182xCuMDwG411tmCIgr6wqYjoilaKn4
I never got to go to or see may of these picture palaces as most had gone by the time i was a teen or were out of my area being born in Ashton Under Lyne ….but i will point out that you got the last film’s star wrong though you were on the right lines with james bond …Sean Connery starred in Never say Never Again! it was a bond film but not made by the franchise that owned the bond films it was an atempt to do one of the novels that they didnt have the rights to at the time! …on another note i DID get to go to The ABC at Broughton if it was a coral bingo as we had a regional meeting there when i worked at the pavilion cinema / coral bingo in the late 80s before it closed and moved to hankinson way …as that was the 1st purpose built bingo club for coral /gala in the region if memory serves …i loved the interior of the abc when i went there and remember thinking how plush and glitzy it was compared to our club in ashton lol ;)
would like to point out that it was never the cosmo bingo club ….that is in the next town over in stalybridge….when it was a bingo hall i worked there …at 1st it was star bingo from what i was told …then when i started there it was coral bingo then Gala up to it closing and moving to a purpose built club …we even had elderly customers back then when i 1st started who remember going as kids to the cinema who said they had wooden benches at the front of the stalls !
Glad to see the grand has had a new lease of life after being closed for so many years I hope they will find some similar sort of use at the other end of lord street for the old mecca bingo / garick theater as thats very much more art deco from the 1930s and would be a shame to lose it as the grand and Garick were the main theaters / cinemas in thier day and ARE part of southport’s Heretiage not to mention the uks Heretiage of art deco or 30’s built cinemas / theaters that are growing less and less as time goes on as Most councils deem them not worthy of a listed status!
I was lucky enough to visit the grand when it was a Bingo hall in the Late 80s early 90s when i worked for Coral then gala bingo on what they called Seaside Jamboriees …basicaly they were trips to thier seaside clubs shuch as southport, Blackpool ( regent and coral Island) etc from other clubs ( iworked at the ashton under lyne club that used to be the old Pavillion cinema ,still standing luckily as a furniture shop … was bought for that when we left in 1999…but sadly they ripped out a lot of stuff there balcony and plaster work still intact but projection rooms etc have gone) I’m not sure what bingo company owned the grand before (could have been Granada as coral / gala tooK thier bingo clubs over around the same time as i worked for them! loved visiting the old cinema bingo halls back then as Gala in the mid to late 90s started a new build program .Im glad the grand is still standing and has recently took on a new lease of life as the grand Brasseire as of 2022 /2023
From 2018 on the BBC website about the fire and the O2 abc history! And I agree with Mike_blakmore’s comment given its LONG history as part of Glasgow’s landscape (ALSO OF NOTE IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1875 AND WENT THROUGH MANY CHANGES BEFORE) Next door, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s new home for the Glasgow School of Art was under construction, the first half opening in 1899 and the second half in 1909. I mean 143 yrs of exitance only classed a grade C building NOW to be Possibly demolished (news reports from 2020) after this devastating fire at the Glasgow School of Arts ..
we have lost SO MANY CINEMAS ACROSS SCOTLAND, WALES, AND ENGLAND over the yrs to demolition…. all be it if they took on different lives after closing as a cinema and Prolonged their existence be it a bingo hall or night club, etc These days so many historical building (not just cinemas) are being torn down in the name of Progress to be replaced with boxy offices or apartments/housing!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-44520030
Since been demolished along with the hotel with the redevelopment of charter Square the space is now occupied by corporate offices for the HSB Bank
Well it finally looks set to be demolished this article is from the Oldham chronicle dated 26th April 2023 https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/23480511.historic-oldham-building-demolished-new-plans/?fbclid=IwAR2M2DCMF9NLD12Z_GmuWSYtGDkCVDTeNFyMk0xxZn8ZeATTITeI85IWKrc
Sadly we visited Ramsgate this weekend 04/08/2022 till 07/08/2022 and the Granvil is shuttered looking a bit worse for wear (we stayed in a hotel just op the road opposite) AND IT’S NOW UP FOR SALE ….but will prob end up being demolished :(
MMM was looking at all the cinemas that have been demolished or closed down in Kirkcaldy and most of them seem to have been destroyed by fire seems unusual and unlucky that Kirkcaldy had that many fires in cinemas or cinemas that converted to bingo halls?
This was local to me where i grew up ..sadly it had closed as a cinema 10 yrs prior to me being born ..BUT i remember it being a bingo hall as my gran used to go and play and remeber the big roxy sign being lit up at night ect! …never got to see the interior as was to young to go in and by the time i was it had already turned into a quilting manufacturer so dont even know if any of the original interiors were still there …I Missed it being demolished as i had moved out the area
Sadly looking on google maps in 2021 it looks like it was demolished around 2018 as in 2019 on google maps they are bulding houses on the land :(
sadly i have heard since my last post that the owners have ripped out the projection box area and toilets in the balcony to make more room ect ….shame realy as when i worked there there was still a LOT of the equipment for things like the light faders , cinema scope control panels ect in the projection room ..projectors had gone but still think there was something that projected slides down to the screen …also just of the projection room there was a spiral staircase to nowhere ..that was above the prize bingo shop ..soo im asuming that when it was a cinema that was an access to projection room from the ground floor!
a good video off YT that is a sort of vurtual tour of when it was a bingo hall ! https://youtu.be/yGt6v-ZWTHA
haem that should have been twitter feed not titter lol https://twitter.com/Bradford_Live?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1363539582801870848%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bradfordlive.co.uk%2Fhome
Restoration is coming along well given the corona virus pandemic ect ..they have now actualy manage to remove all of the tripling of the cinema and got it back to one big auditourium! …you can follow the progress on their you tube channel Bradford live!and also their titter feed and web site! here is the YT vid of restoring the auditorium in 2019! https://youtu.be/xJpOiUpbZQs
The derelict explorer just posted these pics today on their FB page …obv pics taken after cloesure but before demolition! though youd find em interesting https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=183989246845451&set=pcb.184005483510494
there is a page on the bristol posts website of bygone brislington that includes a great picture of the outside of the Ritz in 1970 before demolition! https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/gallery/15-pictures-perfectly-capture-brislington-4735810
used to work for coral then gala as it was back in the late 80s to 2000s based at the pavillion in Ashton Under lyne before they did all the new build clubs and abandonned the old cinemas! have fond memories of going to the cintra and the old ABC at Broughton for regional meetings ect when they were still open as bingo clubs …the abc at broughton was lovely inside ! shame what happend to it …and the cintra chucked on the scrap heap for a generic modern build ect and even those have now closed due to covid! of the 6 gala /buzz bingo halls that were in greater Manchester 3 have now gone! (3 of the biggest i may add! salford, harpurhey and wythenshaw (what used to be the golden garter back in the day before it burnt down and a new club was built!)
Sadly today 26/06/20 the news has been reported by lancashire live that the empire will not be reopening after lockdown and is to be demolished to make way for housing https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackpools-historic-empire-bingo-club-18492821?fbclid=IwAR2CwYTBmSsz8vorAGcB23oEBx5c182xCuMDwG411tmCIgr6wqYjoilaKn4
Edit i should have said Pavillon /coral bingo in Ashton ..and before the salford club closed and moved to hankinson way!
I never got to go to or see may of these picture palaces as most had gone by the time i was a teen or were out of my area being born in Ashton Under Lyne ….but i will point out that you got the last film’s star wrong though you were on the right lines with james bond …Sean Connery starred in Never say Never Again! it was a bond film but not made by the franchise that owned the bond films it was an atempt to do one of the novels that they didnt have the rights to at the time! …on another note i DID get to go to The ABC at Broughton if it was a coral bingo as we had a regional meeting there when i worked at the pavilion cinema / coral bingo in the late 80s before it closed and moved to hankinson way …as that was the 1st purpose built bingo club for coral /gala in the region if memory serves …i loved the interior of the abc when i went there and remember thinking how plush and glitzy it was compared to our club in ashton lol ;)
would like to point out that it was never the cosmo bingo club ….that is in the next town over in stalybridge….when it was a bingo hall i worked there …at 1st it was star bingo from what i was told …then when i started there it was coral bingo then Gala up to it closing and moving to a purpose built club …we even had elderly customers back then when i 1st started who remember going as kids to the cinema who said they had wooden benches at the front of the stalls !