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Report - - Odeon/Classic Cinema, Morecambe - Aug 2020 | Theatres and Cinemas | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Odeon/Classic Cinema, Morecambe - Aug 2020

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UrbandonedTeam

the north
Regular User
Odeon/Classic Cinema

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A photo of the property during it's time as an Odeon, which lasted 30 years.

The cinema opened as an Odeon on 2nd September 1937 with a showing of 'It's a Grand Old World,' featuring Sandy Powell. Built as one of the original Odeon's in the chain began by Oscar Deutsch, it had seating provided for 1084 in the stalls and 476 in the circle. The building boasts a stunning Moderne style exterior which includes a rare projectionist's walkway, most of which is deterioriated today. After thirty years of use, the cinema was taken over by the Classic Cinemas chain in 1967, but only for nine years, and shut in 1976 with a final showing of Kenneth Williams in 'Carry On Behind.' Part of the reason for the cinema's closure relates to it's less than prime location in Morecambe as it away from the tourist going centre.

The building has been occupied with lower level companies every since, including DIY and furniture shops. The current owner is Homemakers 1st Shop. With the building not being listed, the interior has been allowed to deteriorate above the shop, sealed off by drop down ceilings. Nevertheless, the current user stores stock in almost every room upstairs, including the circle.


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It was pouring with rain on our visit, so there was no point getting a wet long exposure. Here is a photo of the building with it's second most recent owner.

I had been eyeing up this theatre for around a year, after street view searching for some '50s offices' supposedly vacant, I passed this and planned to have a closer look later on. Outside the building is up there with my favourite looking cinemas, with it's curving green and white tiles and typical Odeon tower. With the occupants in the lower floors, it definitely wasn't going to be simple going and also not for the day time. Finally a couple months ago, me and @The Excursionists went to inspect and although difficult, it went more or less to plan with our finding of an entry after a while aimlessly stumbling around a spider infested loft space. Although the night in question wouldn't be our successful visit, it left us with a lot of promise, as clearly no-one had entered some sections for years.

This month we returned with much more anticipation as well as @little_ boy_explores who couldn't resist a cinema as such, despite his 7am job interview the following day. Everything went swimmingly, and soon enough we had found ourselves in the circle. Although it was full of what seemed like random items, the ceiling details were nice as well as the gold circles on the soundproof walls that joined the hall to the projector space.

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Looking up to the top of the cinema from the lower levels. Nowadays, this would be the shop floor.

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Today, the front of the stage is blocked by a fibreglass wall, and no seats remain.

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Closeup of the huge light fittings.

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The doors in the cinema were one of the most interesting parts left, personally. These would take the visitor into the top level of the foyer.

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These details at the back of the hall are original and kept well over the years.

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Ashtrays and carpet.

We didn't expect to see any remnants of the stage at all, but moving bits of the fibre glass apart reveals what is still intact today. I wonder if the gold side details have been saved in the shop below.

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In full.

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Now.

We had our highest hopes for the projector room, hoping that the store was unable to get there, or might have just sealed it off since it closed as a cinema. It was disappointing to say the least that there was minimal items inside of old, but the architecture was quite nice with the light fittings, and an old electrical circuit at the side.

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An old photo showing the projector room. The left wall circuit is exactly the same today.

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More modern photos of the projectors changing over time.

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How it appears today. You might start to see a theme of these boxes.

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The electrical circuit.

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A plaque at the top of the circuit, showing it's heritage.

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Various features around the projector room.

To be continued.​
 

UrbandonedTeam

the north
Regular User
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Inside the iconic projectionist's walkway.

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It was parts like this that made us debate how long stuff had actually been stored up here.

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We didn't expect anything of the foyer to remain. The lower floor must be in use for the shop but again, halved by drop down ceilings. These photographs aren't the best because as we found out, this section of the building led directly into the shop so we didn't want to hang around - clicks were going off all around us. It was also much less dusty than the rest of the abandoned parts, so we think the storage here is much more active.

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The foyer in the past.

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The foyer's balcony as it appears today.

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Note the 'C I C E' (?) text above the double doors that lead to the circle. I wasn't sure what this comes from - Classic Cinemas logo is almost 'CIC' so maybe that.

Following this, we had covered every room that isn't used, as well as each stairwell, most of which led to a boarded up door that connects to either outside or the functioning shop.

Thanks for reading :)
 

jtza

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Good report! Access was a mission to say the least so props to you on that one. It was great to pop out into the circle and see what you had found. Enjoyed each visit thoroughly :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

Ojay

Admin
Staff member
Admin
Great report and some classic bread & butter exploring, I’ve enjoyed following the stuff you lads get upto since coming on the scene, even dare I say it some of the videos. Just goes to show if produced properly can work, unlike much of the cringe out there.

Once again great effort :thumb
 

UrbandonedTeam

the north
Regular User
Great report and some classic bread & butter exploring, I’ve enjoyed following the stuff you lads get upto since coming on the scene, even dare I say it some of the videos. Just goes to show if produced properly can work, unlike much of the cringe out there.

Once again great effort :thumb
Much appreciated mate :)
 

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Some really nice features left in there.

It is supposed to say CIRCLE btw. The R is broken and the I and L totally missing.
 

raisinwing

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Very nice report, top effort all involved.

Loving all of the archive images.

It's a real shame that so many of these awesome buildings have been butchered by nasty shops and the likes.
 
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