GALLERY- September 2004

This months gallery is a number of photographs of Worcester Cinemas taken by our Administrator, Mervyn Gould, in June 2002. The accompanying text of the article can be found in Mercia Bioscope No. 92, August 2004. All images copywright MSG.

The Scala Theatre was opened by a consortium of local businessmen on 27 November 1922. As can be seen from the façade photograph below it is a three-storey building faced with faience tiling and enrichments. At the top is a decorative parapet with the practical purpose of protecting the open area outside the projection box, as all projection boxes had to have at least one exit direct to the open air, by the requirements of the Cinematograph Act 1909. The gilding of the title letters is still apparent in this illustration.

.The end of the curved façade, at the first-floor café entrance side, shows the side wall of the auditorium, originally with windows for cleaners’ light, as when opened it would have had to generate its own power. Also slotted in is a (probably nearly contemporary) public convenience – so useful for the queues.

.This shows the offshoot, which could have been the Front Stalls pay-box entrance, or the Stage Door, or both. It closed as a cinema in 1973.

The Gaumont, Foregate Street as Gala Bingo. It was built by P.C.T., by then a G-B. subsidiary company, by architects W. E. Trent & Ernest Tulley. Seating capacity in the stadium-style auditorium was 1,740. The 1935 façade is virtually intact, and kept in a very good state. The first-floor windows originally lit the café.

Designed by Robert Bullivant of the Harry Weedon practice, the Odeon Theatre was built on a site in Foregate Street nearly opposite the Gaumont, but nearer the railway bridge. Planning permission was granted in January 1939. The new cinema covered the site of the Silver Cinema, which had been bought by Oscar Deutsch’s chain (through Odeon (Perry Barr) Ltd.) in 1935. This closed in March 1939, was demolished, and the new building com-menced. When Britain declared war the building was finished, but the interior not equipped, when it was requisitioned by the Ministry of War. When they released it, in 1948, there were licences to get, austerity shortages to deal with, and a change in fashion, so it was not until 1950 that the re-designed building was ready.

The rear corner of the stage end with heating chamber. Presumably the new building is on the cinema car park site.

The 90s version of the Odeon lettering – slimmed-down narrower halo letters and with blue instead of red neon.

The view from Foregate Street station platform, shewing the left-hand corner of the Odeon’s façade and the plenum intake. Supposedly high above the street level to avoid dust and fumes, here, this was on a level with the smoke and ash embers of the steam trains clanking past!

Opened in the late 90s, the multiplex is just outside the ancient centre, towards the canal basins. The street façade is, as it were, a shop-front wide as with early cinemas...

...but the massive bulk of the building is apparent around the corner, running alongside the inner ring road.

Detail of metalwork seen on screen end walls.

The night illumination, which casts a blue up-light, is seen below each one.

Since these photographs were taken the building has changed name to the Worcester Vue.

Their web-site says ‘Vue Worcester has 1369 seats incorporating 17 wheelchair bays, the cinema also has Dolby Digital Surround EX in all screens as well as DTS capability. There is also an infra-red hearing loop
and headsets for this system are available.’