Report - Odeon, nee Paramount Cinema, Manchester Jan 2017

[projectionman]

2 of my mates were projectionist here for many years till it closed one was into cars hence all the car books in previous reports nice to see inside again

 

[Kaplan]

Pretty special that. Great report

 

[The Kwan]

Absolutely gorgeous, bakerlite instrumentation reminds me of being an apprentice, too many years ago but oddly I still use an old bakerlite clamp on amp meter to this very day.
Really enjoyed seeing this. Seems like the same old pattern of one screen to multiscreen, but missing the bingo hall phase before closing.

 

[warrilad01]

fantastic pictures,was given a tour of the projection rooms in the late 90's by karl the chief projectionists, such a shame this place is now being demolished.

 

[Dave563]

Good report mate. Fantastic pictures! Glad you did make the effort with those.

 

[Shades]

Having never seen the Cartouche above the proscenium, I had no idea it had the Paramount mountain on it either. I looked back at online photos and noticed that in some shots it had an Odeon style letter O painted on, probably dating from the 1940 takeover. As an aside, Newcastle was originally planned with a similar Cartouche but received a somewhat different interior treatment. Top work for this Dweeb, you make it look bright in there and I'm sure it wasn't.

 

[KronJewels]

Great report, seems like an amazing place! Loved your writeup too - perfectly describes the experience of exploring a big cinema! Did you ever make the Streatham Megabowl? That was a big cinema, partly rebuilt in the 1940s then later converted to a bowling alley and laser tag arena so pretty complicated inside

 

[Ojay]

Great report, seems like an amazing place! Loved your writeup too - perfectly describes the experience of exploring a big cinema! Did you ever make the Streatham Megabowl? That was a big cinema, partly rebuilt in the 1940s then later converted to a bowling alley and laser tag arena so pretty complicated inside

@The_Raw managed Streatham

 

[dweeb]

Sure did... as I recall Speed had to give me a piggy back over the flooded basement to escape a weirdo I encountered while wandering alone in the alley!

 

[dave]

Loving that ampmeter great report as always.

 

[GK_WAX]

Nice this dweeb!

 

[Shades]

Demolition has started now, the stage end is open to the elements.

 

[Ojay]

End of an Era, and definitely final curtain as the rear of the stage was ripped into the other day

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.../odeon-cinema-oxford-road-demolished-12863828

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Sadly demolition started this week, I'll be sorry to see it go.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.../odeon-cinema-oxford-road-demolished-12863828

 

[Shades]

This is all academic now, but the third from last shot with the angled girders appears to have some form of motor set, where mains power is converted to a different voltage (or DC) by coupling a motor to a dynamo or alternator. I don't know if this powered the DC projector arcs or some other obscure piece of machinery possibly imported from America. Anyway, I thought I'd seen this room before but when I tracked the remembered photo down it isn't the same room at all, perhaps a mirror image in the basement on the opposite side. I hasten to add that I never went behind the scenes at Manchester but it looks like lateral bracing for foundations, there was nothing like this in Newcastle.

The originals can be found at http://iangrey.org/Mercia/?p=57 along with credits on an otherwise broken old site.