Odeon Queensway
30 Holloway Circus, Queensway,
Birmingham,
B5
30 Holloway Circus, Queensway,
Birmingham,
B5
3 people
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A report in The Guardian on Sept. 28th 2023 states that Birmingham Council have voted to demolish the whole Smallbrook Queensway development and replace it with housing.
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Grand opening article:
Scala Superama opening 23 Nov 1964, Mon Birmingham Evening Mail and Despatch (Birmingham, West Midlands, England) Newspapers.com
The James A Roberts architects practice designed the structure of the cinema plus all of the Queensway They employed Modernisation Ltd., The John Freeze-Greene company to designed and the fitout the interiors of both cinemas
Photos from 1988 here:–
Exterior:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/4947254389/
Interior:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/4947843450/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/4947253795/
I attended the last screening at the Queensway in 1988 – they showed a very worn print of ‘Return of the Jedi’.
The cinema is briefly glimpsed in episode 4 of the 1976 BBC drama series ‘Gangsters’ (recently issued on DVD and worth a look for its Birmingham locations). The cinema is showing ‘At the Earth’s Core’ – which was suprisingly an ‘A’ certificate.
Rare-ish photo here chasps:– http://www.pbase.com/beppuu/image/92164027
There are a number of new local history sites springing up in my home(West Midlands) area. May be able to find a few more as we go on.
I seem to recall that the entrances at street level were amalgamated but that you still went down a separate staircase to the two tiny Cinecenta screens.
In the 70s and 80s this was the best cinema in Brum – it had a well proportioned auditorium and good picture and sound. We used to wait for films to move from the Gaumont where 35mm films strained to fill the giant screen.
The 1983 refurb followed a fire caused by a dropped cigarette end in the auditorium – couldn’t happen today!
How do you get permission to “explore” the cinema? I would love to go down and have a look and maybe take some pictures.
Is the seating and screen still intact?
I went to the Cinecenta next door (I think) when it was an American themed nightclub in 1993. It looked to me like it was one of the screens or maybe the two knocked together. All I remember is walking down some stairs to it….
I think so, the only entrance I could find is the glass one that goes onto the ring way (in the photo), and by the screen it’s all flooded so I can’t venture behind it..
Nicky; You must have explored down into the original single screen. I never went to the Odeon Queensway, so can’t be sure whether the two extra screens that were formed out of the former Cinecenta Cinemas next door still kept their original seperate street entrance or if an opening was made in the walls at foyer level (or lower down) to allow access to all three screens.
Does anyone have any pic’s of it back in the day? How many screens did it have (Cos when I went down to it I could only find one)?..
A photograph I took of the Odeon Queensway in May 2005:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/2037629864/