ABC Cinema
Evening all, another one from the archives, honestly I had to search one of my own pics to remember what this place was lol.
I believe I went here with my maiun noin forum exploring mate, around the same time as everyone else but is nicer than I remember though.
The grade two listed ABC designed by William R. Glen and Alfred Ernest Shennan was built and opened in 1931 for £200,000 as the “Forum Cinema”.
“The auditorium, in a semi-Atmospheric style, depicted Venetian scenes, contains an amazing proscenium treatment consisting of a vast curved canopy over the arch and the side boxes. Indirect light light was a feature, except for a huge ‘sunburst’ light fitting above the balcony.
A shallow stage was provided together with a Compton 3Manual/12Ranks organ on a lift in front of the stage, which was opened by organist Reginald Foort.
Because of the relatively small width of the site the 1,835 capacity was achieved by having a huge circle containing 750 of the seats.
It was re-named ABC from 17th February 1971 and due to its opulence and excellent location the cinema survived intact until 1982 when it was converted to a three screen operation by installing two mini-cinemas under the balcony seating 272 and 217 seats.
There were proposals to convert the building into a conference centre, but these stalled and the building has stood empty since closing. Proposals were put forward in late-2007 to convert it into a ‘boutique’ hotel and supper club, with plans going to Liverpool City Council in July 2008 and if permission was granted, work could start in late-2008. The building remained unused and was de-tripled in 2016. 22 years after closing, the building still sits unused in 2020.”
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