The lost cinemas of Stretford, ...... the Picturedrome

Now this is the Stretford cinema that I bet most people have forgotten.

That said I am prepared for a deluge of comments from those who have fond memories of seeing films there, and going on that all important first date.

It is the Picturedrome on King Street by the Post Office.

It was opened in 1911 and over its half century was owned by a variety of cinema chains, including the Northern Combines in the 1920s, the Lancashire chain of Jackson & Newport in the late 1930s, and Essoldo Theatres in 1950.*

Despite its white terracotta facade and ornate upper storey, I doubt that it cut a sway with cinema goers once the new Longford Cinema just across the road opened in 1936.

This picture house with its striking entrance on Chester Road was something new.  It had soundproofing, under seat heating and air conditioning.

“The foyer was floored in Venetian Marble. 

The Auditorium was decorated in tangerine and silver-blue art-deco designs. 

The room also contained a stage, which could be used for theatrical performances by various groups including the Streford Amateur Operatic Society.

The building was the first in Britain to be illuminated by neon tube lighting. 

The arrangement of the business was that the Longford would be used as a Cinema for three weeks of the month and as a theatre for the fourth week. Cinema attendants were forbidden from accepting gratuities. 

The stalls sat 1400, the balcony sat 600 and the café sat 146.”**

It was built by the same company which already owned our Picturedrome, and I realize I have wandered away from that more modest cinema and so I shall return to the picture.

I think we may be sometime in the late 1920s.  The film currently showing was Lady of the Night which came out in 1925 and featured the story of two women both played by Norma Shearer.

They came from different social classes but their paths cross when they both fall for the same man.

In the course of the film both are transformed into more caring responsible individuals and as you would expect there is more than a dash of sentimentality and drama. ***

I rather think we might just be able to refine the date by following up on the career of Tom F Moss who “was a tenor and pioneer of cine-variety, who had been billed as ‘The Caruso of the Halls,’ a description he pinched from an earlier performer, Harry Fragson, conveniently murdered in 1913.”

His career ran from the 1920s through to 1951 and has been documented by Stephen Dixon. ****

So we may get a little further along finding out more on the Picturedrome and I bet there will be people out there who remember it.

After all it only went in 1961 and that opens up a shed full of possible memories.

Lawrence remembers going there but it wasn't his favourite place.

"It was full of some pretty rough sorts so we preferred the Essoldo"

And then as an after thought remembered that Paul Robeson had sung at the Essoldo which of course drew me and set the scene for a whole new story

Pictures; the Picturedrome, Stretford, circa 1925, JBS, and the Essoldo in 1961, m09199, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass
* Picturedrome, Stretford, Cinema treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/42393
** Longford and Essoldo Cinema Stretford, http://longfordcinema.co.uk/history/
***Lady of the Night Plot Summary, IMBd, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016005/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
****Brinsworth House, Stephen Dixon, http://voices-of-variety.com/brinsworth-house/