Always fancied the look of this place. Scoped it out a few times to no avail.
A quick message off @Bolts about an article in the MEN and we were off.
said article:http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...nside-hulme-hippodrome-how-squatters-13562709
The people squatting in there were very friendly, let us in and pretty much have free roam of the place. They're hoping to get the cafe up and running and to hold jam nights for the community and to try and save the building from falling apart.
One of the guys there (can see him in the group shot) was telling us a back story about Deya who had it when it was summit to dow with a church. He was performing miracles on infertile women by giving them babies he'd trafficked from Kenya or something along those lines. So the basement was all partitioned out into small rooms where they were kept. Not too sure what the craic is with that lot to be honest.
From what I can find The Beatles, Laurel & Hardy, Nina Simone and George Formby are just some of the acts that have performed here.
I've been lazy and just copied the history from @Lavino 's report from last year.
History
The Hulme Hippodrome, originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, opened in Hulme, Manchester, on 7 October 1901. It and the nearby Playhouse Theatre, built at the same time, were part of the theatrical empire of W. H. Broadhead. The two venues were connected by an arcade, at the centre of which was Broadhead's company headquarters.
Initially the theatre staged mainly dramatic productions, while the original Hippodrome presented variety performances, but in 1905 the names and functions of the theatres were interchanged: the Hippodrome became the Grand Junction, and the variety performances were transferred to the new Hippodrome.
The Hippodrome was last used as a theatre in the 1960s; from the mid-1970s until its closure in 1986 it was used as a bingo hall. Since then most of the building has remained empty, and it has been placed on Manchester City Council's Buildings at Risk Register.
The building was bought by Gilbert Deya Ministries in 1999, and they hold services in part of the ground floor, led by pastor John Ezedom.
A quick message off @Bolts about an article in the MEN and we were off.
said article:http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...nside-hulme-hippodrome-how-squatters-13562709
The people squatting in there were very friendly, let us in and pretty much have free roam of the place. They're hoping to get the cafe up and running and to hold jam nights for the community and to try and save the building from falling apart.
One of the guys there (can see him in the group shot) was telling us a back story about Deya who had it when it was summit to dow with a church. He was performing miracles on infertile women by giving them babies he'd trafficked from Kenya or something along those lines. So the basement was all partitioned out into small rooms where they were kept. Not too sure what the craic is with that lot to be honest.
From what I can find The Beatles, Laurel & Hardy, Nina Simone and George Formby are just some of the acts that have performed here.
I've been lazy and just copied the history from @Lavino 's report from last year.
History
The Hulme Hippodrome, originally known as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, opened in Hulme, Manchester, on 7 October 1901. It and the nearby Playhouse Theatre, built at the same time, were part of the theatrical empire of W. H. Broadhead. The two venues were connected by an arcade, at the centre of which was Broadhead's company headquarters.
Initially the theatre staged mainly dramatic productions, while the original Hippodrome presented variety performances, but in 1905 the names and functions of the theatres were interchanged: the Hippodrome became the Grand Junction, and the variety performances were transferred to the new Hippodrome.
The Hippodrome was last used as a theatre in the 1960s; from the mid-1970s until its closure in 1986 it was used as a bingo hall. Since then most of the building has remained empty, and it has been placed on Manchester City Council's Buildings at Risk Register.
The building was bought by Gilbert Deya Ministries in 1999, and they hold services in part of the ground floor, led by pastor John Ezedom.
