When businessman and former manager of Cinema City, Jack Thompson, took over the 1930s Art Deco building at the junction of Dereham Road and Grapes Hill, to open the Bowling House, he had no idea what he would find. "After we took over the building we discovered upstairs, all boarded up, there was a near complete balcony of the former Regal Cinema … [Read more...]
Brutalist blocks, BFI Imax and former Birds Eye HQ at risk of demolition
A 1980s Whitehall office block, a cinema that once boasted the widest screen in the UK and the former headquarters of Birds Eye have been named in a top 10 list of 20th century buildings most at risk. The Twentieth Century Society, a campaigning charity, published a list on Tuesday of the buildings it is most concerned about. Its director, … [Read more...]
Brixton History – Led Zeppelin’s live album and a closed theatre on Brixton Hill
In 1976, heavy rock superstars Led Zeppelin released The Song Remains the Same, a live soundtrack album of the concert film of the same name.Unexpectedly, the artwork featured an illustration of the old Scala Theatre at 101 & 103 Brixton Hill – a building we’ve documented extensively over the years but never knew had a rock’n’roll … [Read more...]
Mecca Bingo building in Ashford could get Grade II-listed status
Campaigners say they are delighted after an application calling for Ashford's former Mecca Bingo building to be given Grade II-listed status passed through the first stage. The prominent Lower High Street spot will now be visited by inspectors after officials at Historic England met to discuss whether they would formally consider the proposal. They … [Read more...]
Former adult cinema looks set to get the boutique hotel treatment
The curtain will soon come down on one of Malta’s oldest and most notorious cinemas as the Planning Authority is on track to approve the conversion of Valletta’s City Lights into a boutique hotel. A decision was expected on Tuesday but was deferred pending final clearance from accessibility and environmental health authorities. The St John’s Street … [Read more...]
Chester organ that gave pleasure to thousands in the city is now entertaining a new generation of film fans Down Under
A HISTORIC cinema organ that once entertained thousands of people in one of Chester's much loved but long gone picture palaces has been given a new lease of life thousands of miles away in a theatre in Australia. The organ, formerly installed in the ABC Regal cinema on Foregate Street in Chester was removed from the venue in the mid 1960s before … [Read more...]
