Just a quickie to celebrate being somewhat back in the game!
Bournemouth has been a hot spot for cinema exploring a for a few years now but I had never really put too much effort into getting into the ABC. It certainly seemed to be the lesser of the three available cinemas after being subjected to two rounds of 'twinning' in the 70s and then being stripped out for demolition shortly after closure. On the face of it there is very little to see inside but we found ourselves heading down to the south coast yet again to have another look at one of the Odeon's (which turned out to be somewhat of a fail) so decided to swing by the ABC again too.
Things went somewhat to plan at first and the camera stayed firmly in the bag as we scouted round the many empty stripped out rooms. In true cinema exploring style tho a little bit extra effort paid off. After sticking my head out onto one of the roofs I noticed a door that had been kicked through. Unsure exactly where it would lead we checked it out and was pleasantly surprised to find the old organ chambers complete with shutters, blower and discarded pipework. Not something that would really excite a 'non-cinemaphile' I think (indeed I had to point out what it actually was to everyone else!) but its so rare to see any organ leftovers in cinemas, especially those that are this fucked over, it felt like a bit of a discovery.. The real discovery was to come a few seconds later tho as I stuck my head through another door and was faced with a large dark void! This turned out to be access to an old lighting gantry that was hung precariously above the original stage. The twinning had created a kind of tall narrow void between the old proscenium and the rear of the new screens and what do you know, quite a large chunk of the old proscenium plasterwork was preserved behind! The most impressive feature of this plasterwork was 4 panels depicting animals, a squirrel, a hare, and then two different kind of birds. I ventured some way down onto the lighting gantry but it was very much a hanging death affair and unsure if it was at all safe i snapped a couple of quick shots and retreated feeling sure that we could find another way in at the bottom of said void for a better view anyway... Sadly in the end after spending a few more hours scouting round the stage end of the building at every different conceivable point we concluded that no.. there was no other access and I kind of regret now not taking a bit more time on my photos from above.. Still I think @rasinwing went a bit further down than I did and hopefully has some better examples to add!
Nothing too ground breaking but goes to show theres stuff to find even in the most unpromising places..
Main screen
In the circle
Tiled but empty projection room
Up on the roof, ventilation plant
Organ chambers, the shutters controlled 'swell' i belive
Organ blower
Inside the chambers where the pipes would have stood (tied up with strings on the wall)
Discarded pipes
Plenty of remains of the windbox kicking about
Whats this!
Best photo I could muster.. please add better ones!
How she once looked..
If anyone going take a sledge hammer!
Bournemouth has been a hot spot for cinema exploring a for a few years now but I had never really put too much effort into getting into the ABC. It certainly seemed to be the lesser of the three available cinemas after being subjected to two rounds of 'twinning' in the 70s and then being stripped out for demolition shortly after closure. On the face of it there is very little to see inside but we found ourselves heading down to the south coast yet again to have another look at one of the Odeon's (which turned out to be somewhat of a fail) so decided to swing by the ABC again too.
Things went somewhat to plan at first and the camera stayed firmly in the bag as we scouted round the many empty stripped out rooms. In true cinema exploring style tho a little bit extra effort paid off. After sticking my head out onto one of the roofs I noticed a door that had been kicked through. Unsure exactly where it would lead we checked it out and was pleasantly surprised to find the old organ chambers complete with shutters, blower and discarded pipework. Not something that would really excite a 'non-cinemaphile' I think (indeed I had to point out what it actually was to everyone else!) but its so rare to see any organ leftovers in cinemas, especially those that are this fucked over, it felt like a bit of a discovery.. The real discovery was to come a few seconds later tho as I stuck my head through another door and was faced with a large dark void! This turned out to be access to an old lighting gantry that was hung precariously above the original stage. The twinning had created a kind of tall narrow void between the old proscenium and the rear of the new screens and what do you know, quite a large chunk of the old proscenium plasterwork was preserved behind! The most impressive feature of this plasterwork was 4 panels depicting animals, a squirrel, a hare, and then two different kind of birds. I ventured some way down onto the lighting gantry but it was very much a hanging death affair and unsure if it was at all safe i snapped a couple of quick shots and retreated feeling sure that we could find another way in at the bottom of said void for a better view anyway... Sadly in the end after spending a few more hours scouting round the stage end of the building at every different conceivable point we concluded that no.. there was no other access and I kind of regret now not taking a bit more time on my photos from above.. Still I think @rasinwing went a bit further down than I did and hopefully has some better examples to add!
Nothing too ground breaking but goes to show theres stuff to find even in the most unpromising places..
Main screen
In the circle
Tiled but empty projection room
Up on the roof, ventilation plant
Organ chambers, the shutters controlled 'swell' i belive
Organ blower
Inside the chambers where the pipes would have stood (tied up with strings on the wall)
Discarded pipes
Plenty of remains of the windbox kicking about
Whats this!
Best photo I could muster.. please add better ones!
How she once looked..
If anyone going take a sledge hammer!
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