The Broadway Cinema in Knowle, Bristol
I’ll be honest; Knowle is not an area of Bristol I know well nor an area of Bristol I ever go to. There’s good reason for this - it is a dump. Might be controversial but there’s a reason people joke about needing a bulletproof vest when you go there! Safe to say the most recent time I was there and turned up in a brand new work car, I couldn’t quite be at ease whilst in there in case someone stole the wheels or indeed the whole damn car.
One good thing about Knowle however is this - the Broadway Cinema. I know people tried this back in the day, and had no luck. I know we tried it in the few years leading up to cracking it in 2015, and had no luck. It seemed to be a pretty inpenetrable fortress. That was until a ghastly storm hit the city in 2015 and blew off part of the roof at the back
EP clocked it almost straight away and raised the alarm in our local group chat. One car, one pallet, lots of noise and a broken drainpipe later, we were in!
This report features photos from when we first did it back in 2015 and when we went back last year in 2019 after demolition started. The demo team smashed a huge hole in the wall at the back, right under the roof that we once got in through, meaning we were virtually able to walk straight in. Chicken dinner! Not many photos and I did seem to only take photos of the main areas, but I thought it would be nice to have an update regarding the demolition etc.
Photos from three different visits with @END-PROC @WhoDaresWins @tumbles and CallumNoUserName - cheers lads.
Notice roof repairs after it opened up in 2015:
Entrance foyer in 2015:
And 2019:
Auditorium in 2015:
And in 2019:
Projection room:
In 2019 we brought this down from the roof:
(It's only the housing - nothing inside sadly)
Roof space in 2019 - a lot less up here compared to 2015:
Roof phone pics:
As for the future of the cinema, it seems it will be demolished to make way for the 'regeneration' of the area. If you ask me, it's better with the cinema there! You can't polish a turd...
I’ll be honest; Knowle is not an area of Bristol I know well nor an area of Bristol I ever go to. There’s good reason for this - it is a dump. Might be controversial but there’s a reason people joke about needing a bulletproof vest when you go there! Safe to say the most recent time I was there and turned up in a brand new work car, I couldn’t quite be at ease whilst in there in case someone stole the wheels or indeed the whole damn car.
One good thing about Knowle however is this - the Broadway Cinema. I know people tried this back in the day, and had no luck. I know we tried it in the few years leading up to cracking it in 2015, and had no luck. It seemed to be a pretty inpenetrable fortress. That was until a ghastly storm hit the city in 2015 and blew off part of the roof at the back
EP clocked it almost straight away and raised the alarm in our local group chat. One car, one pallet, lots of noise and a broken drainpipe later, we were in!
This report features photos from when we first did it back in 2015 and when we went back last year in 2019 after demolition started. The demo team smashed a huge hole in the wall at the back, right under the roof that we once got in through, meaning we were virtually able to walk straight in. Chicken dinner! Not many photos and I did seem to only take photos of the main areas, but I thought it would be nice to have an update regarding the demolition etc.
Photos from three different visits with @END-PROC @WhoDaresWins @tumbles and CallumNoUserName - cheers lads.
Notice roof repairs after it opened up in 2015:
Entrance foyer in 2015:
And 2019:
Auditorium in 2015:
And in 2019:
Projection room:
In 2019 we brought this down from the roof:
(It's only the housing - nothing inside sadly)
Roof space in 2019 - a lot less up here compared to 2015:
Roof phone pics:
As for the future of the cinema, it seems it will be demolished to make way for the 'regeneration' of the area. If you ask me, it's better with the cinema there! You can't polish a turd...
