Grand casino history
Located in the Sefton district of Southport at the corner of Lord Street and Court Street. Originally built in 1923 as a garage and car showroom, it was converted into a luxury cinema in 1938 by architect George E. Tonge. The Grand Cinema opened on 14th November 1938 with Arthur Tracy in "Follow Your Star". The cinema was designed for and operated by an independent operator throughout its cinematic life.
Seating was provided in a stadium plan with a sloping floor at the front (known as the Pit stalls and stepped floor at the rear which was known as the Royal stalls and Grand stalls. An unusual feature was the provision of a balconette which was attached to each sidewall. Seating was provised in pairs all along towards the proscenium. There were decorative grilles each side of the proscenium opening which contained the organ pipes of the Compton 3Manual organ which had an illuminated console on a lift, in the centre of the orchestra pit. The organ was opened by Herbert A. Dowson. In the ceiling was a large shallow dowm which had a central Art Deco style light fixture. There was a cafe provided for patrons.
In 1963 the Compton organ was removed to Cheetham Hill Methodist Church in Manchester, which in later years was moved to Chorley Town Hall. In 1966 another Compton organ was installed at the Grand Cinema which had previously been housed in the Regal Cinema, Douglas, Isle of Man and this was opened by Charles Smart.
The Grand Cinema closed on 2nd July 1966 with Sean Connery in "Thunderball" and Peter Cushing in "Hound of the Baskervilles". It was converted into an independent bingo club, and the Compton organ was played to bingo players at the interval during the first few years.
The Grand Cinema last operated as the Stanley Grand Casino, and from 2007 became the Mint Casino, but this was closed by May 2016 and the building is boarded up in early-2017. It is a Grade II listed building.
Visited with @albinojay and @GK_WAX a nice easy no bother place this one to trouble or drama. With nice easy local parking. The place is a bit of a death trap with soggy weetabix floors. But enjoyed it was met there by another couple lads @Cloth Head @scrappy and another lad who's name I didn't get.nice to meet you all. This has been around a while but hasn't had much foot traffic previous post have been in non public so I'll post here. Move if appropriate thanks.
AE3A3F7D-13D6-46A2-BBAC-531556536576 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
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0FF552D4-1564-48DE-8E48-EFA706588646 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
Located in the Sefton district of Southport at the corner of Lord Street and Court Street. Originally built in 1923 as a garage and car showroom, it was converted into a luxury cinema in 1938 by architect George E. Tonge. The Grand Cinema opened on 14th November 1938 with Arthur Tracy in "Follow Your Star". The cinema was designed for and operated by an independent operator throughout its cinematic life.
Seating was provided in a stadium plan with a sloping floor at the front (known as the Pit stalls and stepped floor at the rear which was known as the Royal stalls and Grand stalls. An unusual feature was the provision of a balconette which was attached to each sidewall. Seating was provised in pairs all along towards the proscenium. There were decorative grilles each side of the proscenium opening which contained the organ pipes of the Compton 3Manual organ which had an illuminated console on a lift, in the centre of the orchestra pit. The organ was opened by Herbert A. Dowson. In the ceiling was a large shallow dowm which had a central Art Deco style light fixture. There was a cafe provided for patrons.
In 1963 the Compton organ was removed to Cheetham Hill Methodist Church in Manchester, which in later years was moved to Chorley Town Hall. In 1966 another Compton organ was installed at the Grand Cinema which had previously been housed in the Regal Cinema, Douglas, Isle of Man and this was opened by Charles Smart.
The Grand Cinema closed on 2nd July 1966 with Sean Connery in "Thunderball" and Peter Cushing in "Hound of the Baskervilles". It was converted into an independent bingo club, and the Compton organ was played to bingo players at the interval during the first few years.
The Grand Cinema last operated as the Stanley Grand Casino, and from 2007 became the Mint Casino, but this was closed by May 2016 and the building is boarded up in early-2017. It is a Grade II listed building.
Visited with @albinojay and @GK_WAX a nice easy no bother place this one to trouble or drama. With nice easy local parking. The place is a bit of a death trap with soggy weetabix floors. But enjoyed it was met there by another couple lads @Cloth Head @scrappy and another lad who's name I didn't get.nice to meet you all. This has been around a while but hasn't had much foot traffic previous post have been in non public so I'll post here. Move if appropriate thanks.
AE3A3F7D-13D6-46A2-BBAC-531556536576 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
677196FF-ED07-414A-9EB3-16F7F1686508 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
A4BEE354-17D4-43C3-B29B-E949AD22EA21 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
521170FE-A826-4E2B-AE07-F90EB2A17446 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
41F04130-2574-41F5-BAD8-C6637C8C1DBA by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
C5221223-E490-4DDB-9B64-EB5D1A80F0A0 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
A24A62DC-B8F2-4029-A979-D553F1A5F329 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
97FA0434-1D1C-44A2-96E0-89E2C6D61EC6 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
352BF5D7-B9D9-4E71-861F-CA6B8AADC650 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
95CC590A-7E8B-4876-A259-F6DCD85E1E93 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
5857917C-0368-421B-AF97-4E56B351376E by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
F8D01375-12B7-4DD2-AF23-E36E812755EA by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
CD2C385D-4775-4085-BCAC-E9347EE31B4E by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
97ABFA19-6F4F-488A-9F00-9636FFF07634 by Lavino lavino, on Flickrurl=https://flic.kr/p/GcMZPQ]
B34CB251-D300-48EA-B24C-14806915C219 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
78899088-C91D-41E8-ADBE-8B4D02F6E0E6 by Lavino lavino, on Flickrurl=https://flic.kr/p/23fMZKj]
48BCACC7-F497-4402-911D-BC6A68F8C329 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
10E00DAC-5129-442C-A055-D8E8E6A46B37 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
A57EDCE2-17AF-4066-AEBF-742B3DFB10C6 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
9419402C-5E4F-45DA-BF5D-5706D72749B3 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
6ACB5984-5895-43ED-82E3-132DE586AC2F by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
324F8383-0F17-4D00-AB82-60CE78F340C2 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
FF2CBFFB-2962-498A-BEE4-2DE4AB3EB6D8 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
0FF552D4-1564-48DE-8E48-EFA706588646 by Lavino lavino, on Flickr
