Another one some goon had smashed the front door open on and left it swinging. Then went to the papers with it. Visited with @Ferret @scrappy and 2 non members.
Not really much to see in this one, It’s been messed about with way too much over the years. The only original bits of plaster I could see were all smashed to bits and stuffed under some stairs in loads of rubble sacks.
History
The grand theatre opened Christmas Eve 1908 with a production of Aladdin.
The Theatre was designed by the London architects Thomas Taylor and Ernest Simister who also designed the Chadderton Town Hall.
The exterior was of brick and terra cotta and the interior is said to have been 'elaborate' and consisted of several levels with boxes. The stage was 45 foot wide with a proscenium opening of 32ft 6in and was equipped with an orchestra pit.
he Theatre was radically altered in 1937 by Gaumont Super Cinemas when the auditorium was gutted and transformed into a much simpler space of just Stalls and one Circle seating in total 1,842. Only the outer walls of the building were retained. The Theatre was reopened by George Formby, a film from Gaumont British News showing the event can be seen below. Gaumont took over the building completely in 1944.
The Beatles appeared at the Theatre on several occasions when it was (briefly) trading as the Astoria Theatre, but then in 1962 it was altered for conversion into a Bowling Alley and its live theatre days were well and truly over, although it did find a use as a ballroom for a short period. Further humiliation for this building happened in 1973 when it was again converted, this time into a Nightclub.
The Grand Theatre was then left empty for a number of years until 2011 when the top part of the building was converted for use by the Roller Derby team "Rainy City Roller Derby" who had turned it into a dedicated sports training and games facility called the Thunderdome!
Due to regeneration of Oldhams town centre the building was purchased by the council and has stood empty since 2021 and is now due for demolition.
An early postcard showing the Grand Theatre
When it became a cinema
External today
Down into the basement which was last used as a nightclub
Behind the bar was the old dressing rooms, the floor was rotten and collapsed in parts. Every door had a “empty” label on, so it looks like these were cleared out decades ago and just shut, unused.
Ground floor which was a Rileys last
Upstairs to the Thunderdome
Wrong one, this is it.
And when it was used by Rainy City Roller Derby
Projection room
Battery room
Not really much to see in this one, It’s been messed about with way too much over the years. The only original bits of plaster I could see were all smashed to bits and stuffed under some stairs in loads of rubble sacks.
History
The grand theatre opened Christmas Eve 1908 with a production of Aladdin.
The Theatre was designed by the London architects Thomas Taylor and Ernest Simister who also designed the Chadderton Town Hall.
The exterior was of brick and terra cotta and the interior is said to have been 'elaborate' and consisted of several levels with boxes. The stage was 45 foot wide with a proscenium opening of 32ft 6in and was equipped with an orchestra pit.
he Theatre was radically altered in 1937 by Gaumont Super Cinemas when the auditorium was gutted and transformed into a much simpler space of just Stalls and one Circle seating in total 1,842. Only the outer walls of the building were retained. The Theatre was reopened by George Formby, a film from Gaumont British News showing the event can be seen below. Gaumont took over the building completely in 1944.
The Beatles appeared at the Theatre on several occasions when it was (briefly) trading as the Astoria Theatre, but then in 1962 it was altered for conversion into a Bowling Alley and its live theatre days were well and truly over, although it did find a use as a ballroom for a short period. Further humiliation for this building happened in 1973 when it was again converted, this time into a Nightclub.
The Grand Theatre was then left empty for a number of years until 2011 when the top part of the building was converted for use by the Roller Derby team "Rainy City Roller Derby" who had turned it into a dedicated sports training and games facility called the Thunderdome!
Due to regeneration of Oldhams town centre the building was purchased by the council and has stood empty since 2021 and is now due for demolition.
An early postcard showing the Grand Theatre
When it became a cinema
External today
Down into the basement which was last used as a nightclub
Behind the bar was the old dressing rooms, the floor was rotten and collapsed in parts. Every door had a “empty” label on, so it looks like these were cleared out decades ago and just shut, unused.
Ground floor which was a Rileys last
Upstairs to the Thunderdome
Wrong one, this is it.
And when it was used by Rainy City Roller Derby
Projection room
Battery room
