Odeon Cinema Leeds
Encyclopedia
The Odeon Cinema
was located at The Headrow
, Leeds
, West Yorkshire
, England
, United Kingdom
.
Located at the junction of Briggate
with the Headrow, the Odeon first opened as the Paramount Theatre
with a showing of The Smiling Lieutenant
, starring Maurice Chevalier
, in 1932. This picture palace had a seating for 2,556 and featured the fourth largest Wurlitzer organ in Europe. The Cinema was very populer and had 1.2 million viewers over its first year.
In 1940 the name was changed to the Odeon following the purchase of the Paramount cinemas in the United Kingdom by the owner of Odeon, the Rank Organisation
and became a concert venue, while still being a cinema.
In 1969 it was converted to a twin cinema, and in 1978 a third screen was built in the bar, the former Paramount Restaurant.
In 1988 the Odeon was refurbished and made into a 5-screen cinema with a reduced seating capacity of 1,923.
The Odeon, which was the last picture palace in the city centre, closed due to competition with local multiplexes and the impending opening of a thirteen screen multiplex at The Light
retail and leisure complex originally operated by Ster Century
and now Vue
, it closed in 2001. The building which was originally to be converted to an apartment & leisure complex but was almost immediately bought by Primark
who converted it into a large three storey clothes store that opened in August 2005.
It was designed by Frank Verity
and Samuel Beverley.
The former Odeon
cinema, in the Merrion Centre, is now largely forgotten but the site remains behind locked doors as it did in the 1970s. The site only operated as a cinema for 13 years between 1964 and 1977 before it was closed.
Where some Yorkshire Bank
cash machines are within the centre was the main entry into a cinema that could accommodate nearly 1,000 film fans, The doors have now been boarded up but remain, padlocked, behind the wall holding the cash machines.
The cinema occupies a space above the current Woolworths
store (Woolworths has recently shutdown) and, if you take the stairs in the Merrion Centre to the upper level, you can still see a second set of doors into the former cinema near an entrance into the Merrion Centre car park.
The projection equipment has been removed, as have the seats but much of the building remains untouched. The cinema is now inaccessible, but in 2002 Greg Taylor, who works for a TV company, was inside the redundant building scouting for possible TV locations and took a series of photographs.
In a similar location to where the Merrion Centre is now an Odeon "Super Cinema" was planned on Merrion Street and was possibly of the typical Odeon art deco style but was cancelled presumably due to the purchase of the former Paramount cinema and the start of World War II
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Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
was located at The Headrow
The Headrow
The Headrow is an avenue in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. It holds many of the city's premier shopping, civic and cultural attractions including Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Central Library, Leeds Art Gallery, The Henry Moore Institute and The Light...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
General History Of The Main Leeds Odeon
Briggate
Briggate is one of the pedestrianised principal shopping streets in central Leeds, England. Most of Leeds' department stores are on Briggate, including the Harvey Nichols branch. It is home to a number of major high street retailers as well as banks, restaurants and cafes. Recently there have been...
with the Headrow, the Odeon first opened as the Paramount Theatre
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
with a showing of The Smiling Lieutenant
The Smiling Lieutenant
The Smiling Lieutenant is an American film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert, and released by Paramount Pictures.-Production background:...
, starring Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
, in 1932. This picture palace had a seating for 2,556 and featured the fourth largest Wurlitzer organ in Europe. The Cinema was very populer and had 1.2 million viewers over its first year.
In 1940 the name was changed to the Odeon following the purchase of the Paramount cinemas in the United Kingdom by the owner of Odeon, the Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
and became a concert venue, while still being a cinema.
In 1969 it was converted to a twin cinema, and in 1978 a third screen was built in the bar, the former Paramount Restaurant.
In 1988 the Odeon was refurbished and made into a 5-screen cinema with a reduced seating capacity of 1,923.
The Odeon, which was the last picture palace in the city centre, closed due to competition with local multiplexes and the impending opening of a thirteen screen multiplex at The Light
The Light (Leeds)
The Light is a leisure and retail centre in central Leeds, England. It is located along The Headrow. The building was constructed in 1930–31 as Permanent House, the headquarters of the Leeds Permanent Building Society; the society moved to new premises in at Lovell Park in the 1990s...
retail and leisure complex originally operated by Ster Century
Ster Century
Ster Century was a cinema company in Ireland and the UK. There was one Ster Century cinema in Dublin, Ireland, and six in the UK: Basingstoke, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Norwich, and Romford...
and now Vue
Vue (cinema)
Vue Entertainment , formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded...
, it closed in 2001. The building which was originally to be converted to an apartment & leisure complex but was almost immediately bought by Primark
Primark
Primark is a clothing retailer, operating over 223 stores in Ireland , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium...
who converted it into a large three storey clothes store that opened in August 2005.
It was designed by Frank Verity
Frank Verity
Francis Thomas Verity was an English cinema architect during the cinema building boom of the post-war years.Verity was born in London, educated at Cranleigh and joined Thomas Verity, his father, in his architectural practice, which specialised in theatre building.Both Veritys bought an interest...
and Samuel Beverley.
Merrion Odeon
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
cinema, in the Merrion Centre, is now largely forgotten but the site remains behind locked doors as it did in the 1970s. The site only operated as a cinema for 13 years between 1964 and 1977 before it was closed.
Where some Yorkshire Bank
Yorkshire Bank
Yorkshire Bank is a commercial bank in England and Wales, a division of Clydesdale Bank, which in turn is a subsidiary of National Australia Bank. It mostly operates in the North of England, especially in Yorkshire. In 2006 underlying profit rose 16.7 per cent to £454 million compared with a...
cash machines are within the centre was the main entry into a cinema that could accommodate nearly 1,000 film fans, The doors have now been boarded up but remain, padlocked, behind the wall holding the cash machines.
The cinema occupies a space above the current Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
store (Woolworths has recently shutdown) and, if you take the stairs in the Merrion Centre to the upper level, you can still see a second set of doors into the former cinema near an entrance into the Merrion Centre car park.
The projection equipment has been removed, as have the seats but much of the building remains untouched. The cinema is now inaccessible, but in 2002 Greg Taylor, who works for a TV company, was inside the redundant building scouting for possible TV locations and took a series of photographs.
In a similar location to where the Merrion Centre is now an Odeon "Super Cinema" was planned on Merrion Street and was possibly of the typical Odeon art deco style but was cancelled presumably due to the purchase of the former Paramount cinema and the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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