Winter Gardens Theatre

Located in the seaside town of Bournemouth, Dorset. The Winter Gardens Theatre replaced a Victorian era Winter Gardens, which was a replica of the Crystal Palace in London and had 600 seats. That building had some cinema use from 1904.

The Winter Garden Theatre was a brick construction which was built as a roller-skating rink in the 1930’s. It opened as a concert hall in 1946. It was home to the internationally famous Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra until 1975. In the 1970’s, it was equipped with Phillips FP70 projectors and a roll-down screen and was used to screen films during the winter months (October-May). The summers (June-September) were taken up with summer shows on the stage, which was wide, but quite shallow. There were 10 dressing rooms. The theatre also had a licenced bar and café.

The Winter Gardens Theatre was operated by the local council, and it was demolished in 2006.

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