post by lavino | | The grand theatre/casino/bingo hall Southport February 2018 uk < on 2/14/2018 12:16 PM >
Grand casino history Located in the Sefton district of Southport at the corner of Lord Street and Court Street. Originally built in 1923 as a garage and car showroom, it was converted into a luxury cinema in 1938 by architect George E. Tonge. The Grand Cinema opened on 14th November 1938 with Arthur Tracy in "Follow Your Star". The cinema was designed for and operated by an independent operator throughout its cinematic life.
Seating was provided in a stadium plan with a sloping floor at the front (known as the Pit stalls and stepped floor at the rear which was known as the Royal stalls and Grand stalls. An unusual feature was the provision of a balconette which was attached to each sidewall. Seating was provised in pairs all along towards the proscenium. There were decorative grilles each side of the proscenium opening which contained the organ pipes of the Compton 3Manual organ which had an illuminated console on a lift, in the centre of the orchestra pit. The organ was opened by Herbert A. Dowson. In the ceiling was a large shallow dowm which had a central Art Deco style light fixture. There was a cafe provided for patrons.
In 1963 the Compton organ was removed to Cheetham Hill Methodist Church in Manchester, which in later years was moved to Chorley Town Hall. In 1966 another Compton organ was installed at the Grand Cinema which had previously been housed in the Regal Cinema, Douglas, Isle of Man and this was opened by Charles Smart.
The Grand Cinema closed on 2nd July 1966 with Sean Connery in "Thunderball" and Peter Cushing in "Hound of the Baskervilles". It was converted into an independent bingo club, and the Compton organ was played to bingo players at the interval during the first few years.
The Grand Cinema last operated as the Stanley Grand Casino, and from 2007 became the Mint Casino, but this was closed by May 2016 and the building is boarded up in early-2017. It is a Grade II listed building.
Visited with @albinojay and @GK_WAX a nice easy no bother place this one to trouble or drama. With nice easy local parking. The place is a bit of a death trap with soggy weetabix floors. But enjoyed it was met there by another couple lads @cloth head @scrappy and another lad who's name I didn't get.nice to meet you all. This has been around a while but hasn't had much foot traffic previous post have been in non public so I'll post here. Move if appropriate thanks.
post by EsseXploreR | | Re: The grand theatre/casino/bingo hall Southport February 2018 uk <Reply # 1 on 2/14/2018 1:10 PM >
Wow, didn't expect it to be so terribly ugly inside. They really butchered that auditorium. Regardless nice set, looks like there is still some beauty here underneath all the crap.
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Re: The grand theatre/casino/bingo hall Southport February 2018 uk <Reply # 2 on 2/14/2018 3:52 PM >
Sweet I enjoyed your write up and captures a lot. A strange, twisted creature it is... that ceiling is wild. Been fun to see in it's prime. Looks like great fun.