Preston Odeon - July 2011.

[crippletron 3000]

Preston Odeon

Formerly - New Victoria / Gaumont / Odeon / Top Rank



Shouts to Scrappy on this one


Opening on the 17th September 1928 it had a capacity of over 2,000 in the traditional circle and Stalls format

The building also contained a restaurant and a spacious entrance hall with an impressive dome measuring nearly 22ft which was surmounted by a small glass

skylight with a chandelier suspended from it

There was a much larger dome in the auditorium which had a system of sliding shutters that allowed daylight in

Above the dome, on the roof is the projection room complete with rewinding room, staff room, Chief’s office and follow-spot ports

By 1962 the cinema was renamed Odeon and in 1970 the old restaurant was converted to a second screen (Odeon 2)

The ballroom remained the same but became a discoteque called Clouds

The former picture palace has been closed since 1992 but action group, The New Vic, are aiming to purchase, refurbish and restore the site as part of Preston’s heritage


I originally went for a recce with The Lone Ranger a few months back, we had no chance as it was far too busy

Welcome to stupid O'Clock, a time when I'm normally rolling in from stuff rather than heading out...


Front Entrance






Auditorium 1928




Odeon 1 - Present Day










Stage






Projector Room




Mooching




Stairwell




Original Ceiling




Odeon 2




Staff Area






Rectifiers






Follow Spot Ports - Looking Down






Above Old Auditorium




Original Dome 1928




..And now






Original Projector Ports




Streets






On Your ChimneyZ

[scrappy]

Auditorium 1928




Odeon 1 - Present Day



these two pics show how they made the night club underneath the cinema by losing everything below the balcony and making a new stage and floor. if you see on the 1928 pic centre of the dome is where the hole is on the present day photo.

[scrappy]

some of mine,

dome