One of the great bonuses of my friendship with Andy Robertson is the wonderful collection of pictures he has stored away in the collection.
Yesterday we were having a conversation about his love affair with Stockport, and then out of the blue he remembered the Palace cinema in Conway, and with an hour of him leaving he sent over this image of the place, with the comment that it had opened in 1936 and closed in the 1980s.
And not wanting to shortchange the picture I went looking in that wonderful cinema resource which is cinema Treasures.*
It is a site I often go to for information and which I have never been disappointed.
Nor was I this time, because according to Ken Roe, the picture palace of dreams and adventures, opened in 1936 with Hugh Williams in "Lieutenant Daring R.N.".
And “of all the cinemas that were built in the U.K. in 1936, the Palace Cinema received the title ‘Cinema of the Year’ and the architect was given a special design award.”
And I can see why because “inside the auditorium was rather plain, but there was a reason for this. The lighting was by Holophane, which was able bathe the auditorium in over 400 tints and hues of colour. There are six silvered columns on each side of the proscenium opening which reflected the lighting. Across the top of the proscenium were panels in silver, which showed the faces of leading film stars of the 1930’s. The ceiling was a plain ‘dome’ which had the Holophane lighting ‘played’ onto it”.
Now I could go on, but that would be to snaffle Mr. Roe’s research, so instead I shall just leave you with the link and advise you to go and look up the full story of the Palace for yourself.**
Leaving me as ever just to thank Andy, who I notice has now inspired over 500 stories which have used his images.***
Location; High Street, Conway, LL32 8DB
Picture; the Palace cinema, Conway, 2019, from the collection of Andy Robertson
* cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/
**Palace Cinema, Conway, Ken Roe, cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/22947
***Andy Robertson, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=Andy+Robertson&max-results=20&by-date=true
And not wanting to shortchange the picture I went looking in that wonderful cinema resource which is cinema Treasures.*
It is a site I often go to for information and which I have never been disappointed.
Nor was I this time, because according to Ken Roe, the picture palace of dreams and adventures, opened in 1936 with Hugh Williams in "Lieutenant Daring R.N.".
And “of all the cinemas that were built in the U.K. in 1936, the Palace Cinema received the title ‘Cinema of the Year’ and the architect was given a special design award.”
And I can see why because “inside the auditorium was rather plain, but there was a reason for this. The lighting was by Holophane, which was able bathe the auditorium in over 400 tints and hues of colour. There are six silvered columns on each side of the proscenium opening which reflected the lighting. Across the top of the proscenium were panels in silver, which showed the faces of leading film stars of the 1930’s. The ceiling was a plain ‘dome’ which had the Holophane lighting ‘played’ onto it”.
Now I could go on, but that would be to snaffle Mr. Roe’s research, so instead I shall just leave you with the link and advise you to go and look up the full story of the Palace for yourself.**
Leaving me as ever just to thank Andy, who I notice has now inspired over 500 stories which have used his images.***
Location; High Street, Conway, LL32 8DB
Picture; the Palace cinema, Conway, 2019, from the collection of Andy Robertson
* cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/
**Palace Cinema, Conway, Ken Roe, cinema Treasures, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/22947
***Andy Robertson, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=Andy+Robertson&max-results=20&by-date=true
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