Maidenhead Cinemas

Transcript

The reel history of the picture houses of old

DURING the Edwardian period, the Chapel Arches and Bridge Street areas were places in the town which were earmarked for leisure activities.

In 1908, a roller skating rink was constructed behind the Colonnade and, from the following year, a Mr Boyle Lawrence started to show films there in order to supplement his skating lessons.

The skating hall could accommodate an audience of 1,500 people. It was given a proper licence to show films in 1910, when it was renamed the Picture Theatre, having been ‘opened’ by local entrepreneur George Gude.

In 1913, the Picture Palace opened in Queen Street and had seating for 500 patrons on comfortable, upholstered chairs.

Fourteen years later, Maidenonians saw the opening of the elegant Rialto Cinema by the Mayor, Charles W Cox.

The cinema, which was in Bridge Avenue, could seat some 1,200 people. It was designed by the celebrated cinema architect, Robert Cromie, and built by the local building firm William Creed & Co.

The cinema opened on November 1, 1927, with a showing of the film Ben Hur starring Raymond Navarro. It boasted an indoor water fountain and restaurant.

In 1928, the Picture Theatre cinema was modernised and renamed the New Plaza and could now seat some 717 people. It possessed one of the wonderful Wurlitzer organs which rose up from the orchestra pit and which, on opening night, was played by Philip Dore.

By 1930, all three Maidenhead cinemas were showing ‘talkie’ pictures.

The old skating rink Picture Theatre in Bridge Street closed in 1934 and was converted by the architect AH Jones into a new 748-seat cinema, all on one floor, known as the Ritz Cinema (also known affectionately as ‘the Fleapit’).

This cinema, which was opened on January 20, 1936, was decorated in green and black and had black doors.

It had great competition from the Rialto and Plaza cinemas during World War II and eventually closed in 1943. The building was then used to manufacture flooring for Wellington bombers for the war effort and was demolished in 1990 to make way for squash courts.

In the 1950s, both remaining cinemas were owned by the Associated British Cinemas Group (ABC) and, by 1960, the Rialto was known as the ABC Maidenhead.

On October 13, 1962, the Plaza in Queen Street closed as a cinema. It was converted into a bingo and social club, and this continued into the 1990s when it was converted into a nightclub.

The ABC Maidenhead (formerly the Rialto) celebrated its 50th birthday in 1977, where it showed the remake of Ben Hur starring Charlton Heston.

The cinema finally closed its doors on May 18, 1985, after playing to much-depleted audiences.

It would take almost 20 years for Maidenhead to gain a new cinema. On September 15, 2003, a new UCI eight-screen cinema opened in King Street at a cost of £5m.

Photographs

FIRST UP: Maidenhead Picture Theatre, next to Chapel Arches in 1915.

SWITCH: The ABC Plaza Cinema after being converted into a bingo hall in 1965.

ELEGANT: The Rialto Cinema in Bridge Avenue shortly after opening in 1927.

Images

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