Title
Bradford Odeon Cinema Archive
Reference
ODE
Production date
1968 - 1988
Creator
- Bradford OdeonBiographyBiography
Bradford Odeon was a multi-screen cinema situated on Godwin Street in Bradford from 1969 until 2000, when the cinema closed.
Odeon Cinemas took ownership of the building that had formerly operated as the Gaumont in November 1968. For the following nine months, Odeon Cinemas converted the Gaumont into a complex with the former theatre circle divided into two film auditoria, one of 1,200 and the other of 467 seats. The former stalls were converted into a 1,000 seat Top Rank bingo hall, replacing the company's bingo operation in the former Majestic cinema in Morley Street. The "Odeon" name was transferred to the new two-screen cinema, which opened in August 1969. The bingo hall opened later in the year.
The Gaumont (formerly New Victoria) ballroom had also closed in 1968, and it remained unused for 20 years. In 1988 Odeon had it converted into a 244-seat auditorium and it reopened that June as a third screen of the cinema. The new Odeon 3 opened on Thursday 23rd June 1988 with the local premiere of Crocodile Dundee II (1988).
In 1991 Odeon Cinemas had plans prepared to convert the bingo hall into three film auditoria and the former restaurant into retail units. In 1994 it had plans prepared to divide the 1,200-seat auditorium into three auditoria and the 467-seat auditorium into two. Neither plan was implemented.
In the 1990s the Gallagher Group planned to redevelop a site at Thornbury on the eastern edge of Bradford into a leisure park that would include a 13-screen multiplex. The cinema chain originally contracted to operate it withdrew, so Odeon took its place and in July 2000 opened the new cinema as the Odeon Leeds-Bradford. It closed the Bradford Odeon in June 2000. The site remains disused at the time of writing (2016).
- The GaumontBiographyBiography
The Gaumont was a cinema and venue which operated under various names (The New Victoria, The Gaumont, Bradford Odeon) on Godwin Street, Bradford, between 1930 and 2000.
In 1928 a decision was made by a local body of Councillors, MP’s and other local figures that William Whittaker's brewery would be demolished and give way to a new cinema. The New Victoria combined a cinema with a large ballroom, restaurant and tea room café.
Local architect, William Illingworth, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, was given the role of designing the theatre. He was given three conditions to the design; it had to look iconic, modern and had to have domes to complement Francis Laidler’s Alhambra, which was opened in 1914. Behind this rather ambitious project were two big leisure companies; Provincial Cinematograph Theatres (PCT) and the Gaumont British Pictures Corporation (GBPC.)
The New Victoria was opened on Monday 22nd September 1930 by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Angus R. Rhodes in the company of other distinguished guests, civic officials and managers of other Bradford city centre cinemas.
From its opening, the ballroom above the restaurant overlooking Thornton Road provided two dance sessions daily to its patrons. There was also a restaurant in the theatre which opened from 12-2.30pm daily.
The ventilation system in the building was a new innovation in 1930 and was being tested across 32 picture houses across Yorkshire. It had to be specifically designed very carefully to deal with the thousands of people who could be in the theatre at any one time. The system could admit 60,000 cubic feet of air every minute.
A 3-manual 10-rank Style 220 Wurlitzer pipe organ was installed at the back of the huge orchestra pit. A lift allowed the organ to rise above the height of the stage, which was very useful in flooding such as in 1946. Many broadcasts of the organ live from the theatre were broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s.
In September 1950, the name of the New Victoria was changed to the Gaumont to fit in with the popularity of the Gaumont cinema circuit. Gaumont British Pictures Corporation (GBPC) were one of the two parties who put the money into the project. The 1950s and 1960s saw Bradford put on the tour map as the Gaumont was home to stars such as The Beatles, Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones and Shirley Bassey.
In 1954, the Gaumont became the first cinema in Bradford to install CinemaScope – a new innovation in the world of ‘talkies’ or talking films. It is believed that it cost the Gaumont between £6,000 and £7,000 to install it. The first CinemaScope film to be shown here was on 2nd February 1954 and was “How to Marry A Millionaire” starring Marilyn Monroe.
On Saturday 30th December 1961 the Gaumont Ballroom closed down. The last waltz to be played there was “Sea of Heartbreak” by Don Gibson and played by Bert Bentley and His Orchestra.
In 1968, after a period of declining numbers in the audience, the management at the Gaumont chose to close the cinema. The Gaumont finally closed its doors on Saturday 30th November 1968 to the film “Rio Conchos.” The building was then sold to Odeon Cinemas, who refurbished the building and reopened the operation in 1969.
Scope and Content
The materials in this collection relate to former site of the Bradford Odeon/Gaumont on Godwin Street. The collection primarily covers two periods of refurbishment of the building - firstly, the period of refurbishment that occurred after Odeon Cinemas took over ownership of the building (1968-1969), and secondly, the installation of a third screen in the former New Victoria/Gaumont ballroom in 1988.
The collection includes architectural drawings and floor plans, designs for signage and panels in the buidling, technical drawings, installation plans, manuals for cinema equipment (particularly projection and sound equipment), operating logs, and minutes for site meetings during the second period of refurbishment. It is particularly rich in materials relating to sound and lighting and cinema equipment as well as floor plans and layout designs. There is also a large amount of information about the building's ventilation system.
The instruction manuals and operation documents relate to equipment produced by manufacturers including Arri,Thorn Lighting, Shure Microphones, Hants and Dorset Lighting Ltd, Philips, Strand Lighting, Pye Laservision, Ushio Profile, Rank Audio-Visual, Cinemeccanica and Xenon.
Extent
Six clamshell boxes containing approximately 260 individual components
Physical description
The collection is entirely paper-based, with a large amount of A1 and A2 architectural plans and technical drawings. These have been stored folded for many years and in many cases are heavily creased with tears around the edges. A smaller proportion of the materials show damage including staining (caused by drinks), fading and more severe tearing.
Language
English
Archival history
The materials in this collection were recovered from the Bradford Odeon site after it's closure in 2000, and accessioned immediately into the museum's collection.
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
Subject
Conditions governing access
Access is given in accordance with the NMeM access policy. Material from this collection is available to researchers through the museum’s Insight facility.
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied of items in the collection, provided that the copying process used does not damage the item or is not detrimental to its preservation. Copies will be supplied in accordance with the NMeM’s terms and conditions for the supply and reproduction of copies, and the provisions of any relevant copyright legislation.
System of arrangement
This collection is currently undergoing cataloguing and a system of arrangement has yet to be established - this field will be updated at a later date.