Odeon Sketty
31 Gower Road,
Sketty,
Swansea,
SA2 9BU
31 Gower Road,
Sketty,
Swansea,
SA2 9BU
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Rank Organisation
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Maxime Cinema
Nearby Theaters
A typical Art Deco style 1930’s cinema front incorporated into shops on either side.
This opened on 3rd December 1938 as the Maxime Cinema and was built for and operated by Cornell Cinemas Ltd. a local independent. It was equipped with a 2Manual Lafleur (Hammond) organ.
From 13th December 1943 it was taken over by Oscar Deutsch’s Odeon Theatres Ltd. chain and was re-named Odeon from 21st July 1947.
The Odeon closed on 17th February 1962 and was converted into a Top Rank Bingo Club a week later. In its last years of operation it was a Mecca Bingo which closed in October 1995. The auditorium was demolished in 2000 and a block of flats ‘Maxime Court’ was built on the site. The facade became retail use.
In 2023 the facade is still intact, but the upper windows on the left side as covered from the inside with brown screening material which looks to be in poor condition. The retail unit in the old entrance area is now a trendy coffee house - The Square Peg - so that at least is in good condition.
Contributed by
Ian Howells, Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Whats left of the facade is in a pretty bad state. None of the cinema is left except the main front wall. The cinema front windows are now replaced by ordinary windows to the flats behind.
The Odeon Sketty. July 2007
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtians/2252202365/
Wings still occupied by Coral and Lloyds Bank as of October 2017 but centrepiece now the Square Peg Coffee Bar.