Westleigh Kinema
102 Harrow Road,
Leicester,
LE3 0JU
102 Harrow Road,
Leicester,
LE3 0JU
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Evington Cinema Circuit
Styles: Neo-Classical
Nearby Theaters
Located on the corner of Harrow Road (which is where the entrance was) and Fosse Road South (which is where the auditorium ran parallel to the road) in the Westcotes district to the west of the city centre. The Westleigh Kinema was opened by George Scarborough on 15th February 1926 with Frederik Jensen in “Little Dorrit”. The façade was in Yorkshire stone and had imposing columns. There were two dressing rooms under the stage, and variety acts were part of the film programme. In 1930 it was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system and the first ‘talkie’ shown was “The Fall of Eve”.
In later years the Westleigh Kinema was operated by the Evington Cinema Circuit. It was closed in 1964, and the final film was Elvis Presley in “Love in Las Vegas”. It was demolished and a petrol station was built on the site. That closed in the 1990’s and the site is now a used car sales lot by Flora Bros. Car Sales.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
This was my local cinema from 1961 until it closed in 1964. Aesthetically, it was stuck in 1926 until the day it closed. The upstairs foyer was furnished with dusty Lloyd Loom wicker chairs and tables, complete with aspedistras! Tickets? No, you were issued with an octagonal metal token with a square hole in the middle – I’d never seen anything like this before or since. The intermission music was always, but ALWAYS, “Windows of Paris”. That said, the standard of projection was high, the sound good, the auditorium warm and comfortable, and most importantly, for an impecunious apprentice, much cheaper than the city centre cinemas. I remember the Westleigh with great affection and was sad to see it go.
the Westleigh, the cosy picture house, opened on February 15th, 1926. Grand opening ad posted.