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All change at the pictures
ASK anyone who grew up in Leeds in the 1950s and 60s and chances are they will be able to tell you the name of their local cinema.
For many, the likes of the Imperial Picture House on Kirkstall Road, the Newtown Picture Palace in Sheepscar, the Regal Super Cinema in Cross Gates or the Star Cinema on York Road still trip easily off the tongue.
From flea pits to magnificent art deco buildings, these celluloid cathedrals were packed full of filmgoers every night of the week, all eager to see the latest Hollywood offerings.
In the 1950s, there were more than 50 cinemas in Leeds, taking up a full page of the Yorkshire Evening Post to announce their showings. The tram system allowed almost anyone, from anywhere in the city, to go to any cinema.
Yet slowly but surely the rise of television took its toll, with admissions declining so heavily that many struggled to fill their auditoriums.
And when the single-screen picture houses began to face competition from the new, modern multiplexes it became obvious that many of the city's cinemas would not be able to survive.
The late 1960s and 1970s saw them shut one by one, with the smaller cinemas the first to go.
Thankfully, because it helped to preserve buildings that may otherwise have been demolished, a new phenomenon was sweeping Britain at the time.
Bingo had started life as an Italian lottery game before catching on in America, but the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act, along with the subsequent 1968 Gaming Act, turned it into a phenomenon over here too.
The first person to realise the opportunity the game presented for the country's struggling cinemas was Eric Morley, founder of Miss World and director of the Mecca entertainment group.
He snapped up many of these ailing picture houses, transforming them into bingo halls, which, though far from popular with sentimental cinema lovers, at least saved them from the bulldozer.
One of the biggest of Leeds's cinemas to be turned over to this new form of entertainment was the Majestic Picture Theatre.
Located in the city centre at the junction of Quebec Street and Wellington Street, by City Square, it was opened on June 5, 1922, and designed by architects Pascal J Stienlet and J C Maxwell for Leeds Picture Playhouse Ltd.
The Majestic well and truly lived up to its name.
The wide spacious auditorium, with a single balcony, was richly decorated with wall motifs and an enormous plaster frieze. It even had its own symphony orchestra and an organ.
It changed hands a couple of times before eventually being closed by the Rank Organisation in July 1969, immediately becoming a Top Rank Bingo Club.
When the bingo phenomenon began to run out of steam, the hall closed and in 1996 the Grade II listed building was turned into the Majestyk nightclub, with a second club, Jumpin' Jaks, located in the basement.
Majestyk lasted a decade before closing its doors for the final time, a victim of the growing competition that came with the explosion of Leeds's night time economy. Owners Luminar now want to turn it into the 14m Majestic Casino, offering gaming along with live, cabaret-style entertainment.
A casino would be among the less unusual uses found for one of the city's former picture houses.
The Crescent Cinema on Dewsbury Road is now an adult sauna, as is the Palace Picture Hall in Armley.
On the Headrow, what opened as the Paramount Theatre in 1932 and closed as the Odeon in 2001 is now home to a giant Primark clothes store.
However, a couple of the city's oldest cinemas have managed to keep the projectors rolling.
The Hyde Park Picture House opened for business on November 7, 1914, and, though the pages of that day's Yorkshire Evening Post were almost entirely devoted to news of the war, a small advert announced its opening, proudly proclaiming itself 'The Cosiest in Leeds'.
In 1989, Leeds City Council stepped in to save it from closure and the Picture House is now owned by the council as part of an independent company that also includes Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House and The City Varieties.
The Cottage Road Cinema in Far Headingley also has a long history dating back to 1912 and the days of silent movies.
It is one of the oldest continuously operated cinemas in the country, having been rescued from closure by enthusiast Charles Morris.
"Somewhere like the Cottage Road has something special to offer in the way of atmosphere and history as well as space and ambience," said Mr Morris, a former engineer, after taking over the lease from
Associated Tower Cinemas in 2005.
"We've done our bit and it will continue, it's up to the public to do theirs now."
Owners Luminar now want to turn it into the 14m Majestic Casino, offering gaming along with live, cabaret-style entertainment.
A casino would be among the less unusual uses found for one of the city’s former picture houses.
The Crescent Cinema on Dewsbury Road is now an adult sauna, as is the Palace Picture Hall in Armley.
On the Headrow, what opened as the Paramount Theatre in 1932 and closed as the Odeon in 2001 is now home to a giant Primark clothes store.
However, a couple of the city’s oldest cinemas have managed to keep the projectors rolling.
The Hyde Park Picture House opened for business on November 7, 1914, and, though the pages of that day’s Yorkshire Evening Post were almost entirely devoted to news of the war, a small advert announced its opening, proudly proclaiming itself ‘The Cosiest in Leeds’.
In 1989, Leeds City Council stepped in to save it from closure and the Picture House is now owned by the council as part of an independent company that also includes Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House and The City Varieties.
The Cottage Road Cinema in Far Headingley also has a long history dating back to 1912 and the days of silent movies.
It is one of the oldest continuously operated cinemas in the country, having been rescued from closure by enthusiast Charles Morris.
“Somewhere like the Cottage Road has something special to offer in the way of atmosphere and history as well as space and ambience,” said Mr Morris, a former engineer, after taking over the lease from Associated Tower Cinemas in 2005.
“We’ve done our bit and it will continue, it's up to the public to do theirs now.”
grant.woodward@ypn.co.uk
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
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